Manila: A tropical storm continued to drench Luzon on Monday, as it headed further north, affecting millions of people including in Metro Manila.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), heavy rains caused by Tropical Storm Linfa, known in the Philippines as “Egay”, triggered landslides and floods that caused the closure 18 road sections and one bridge in the provinces of La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Benguet, Kalinga and Apayao.
Storm warnings were issued in at least 14 areas of the main Philippine island of Luzon as Linfa moved slowly across the north of the Southeast Asian archipelago.
As of Monday, the storm, which was carrying 75km/h winds, was located 200km Northwest of Laoag City, Ilocos Norte and wa expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Thursday.
Linfa made a landfall over Isabela, in northern Philippines, on Saturday night and was moving in a northerly direction at a slow 9km/h.
The presence of the storm had prompted authorities in northern Philippines to cancel classes for schoolchildren as well as work at government offices.
Alexander Pama, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the storm would bring heavy rain within a 400km (250 miles) radius. The storm was named Egay in the Philippines.
“We are grounding all sea travel and fishing operations in the north because we expect sea waves to go as high as four metres [13 feet], Pama said.
“We don’t want any loss of life or any accidents,” he said.
Army units have been placed on standby to evacuate people to temporary shelters if needed, Pama said.
In Metro Manila, schools were ordered shut by officials, up to secondary level, in certain low lying cities such as Manila and Malabon as flood waters rose due to the heavy rains and high tide.
The storm affected an area covering some 400 kilometres.
At around 3.30pm, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa announced that office work had been suspended in the government as well as private sector.
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways has installed warning signs on flooded road sections and has deployed equipment and personnel for clearing operations.
Although Linfa, brought considerable inconvenience to residents in Luzon, its effects are expected to be minimal.
In Palawan and Mindanao, days of heavy rains continue to inconvenience residents as parts of the island remained flooded.
In Batangas province, authorities were still trying to determine if the inclement weather had something to do with the crash of a private helicopter.
An Augusta 109E business helicopter owned by the Malate Tourist Development Corp, went down in Cuenca town on Monday morning, killing two people including the owner of the helicopter, Archimedes “Archie” King and the pilot, Capt. Felicisimo Taborlupa.
King owned the popular Victoria Court chain of motels.
Aside from King, the other passengers were his wife, Lingling, former fashion-model turned-designer Tina Maristela Ocampo, society magazine editor Rico Ocampo, and socialites Anton Sandiego, Patricia Chilip and Christopher Chilip, who sustained injuries as a result of the crash.
According to Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippine (CAAP) Deputy chief for Operations Gen. Rodante Joya the agency is conducting an investigation into the crash, although they are not ruling out human error or mechanical issues as possible causes.
