Manila: Typhoo Krosa displaced people and shut off roads and bridges as it battered northern Luzon for four days, starting on Tuesday, a senior official said, adding that its devastation would be fully assessed when it passes on toward the South China Sea on Saturday, a senior official said.
“Uprooted trees and other debris blocked the entire national road from Aparri to Tuguegarao starting on Tuesday. The major road remained impassable until the department of public works completes a clearing operation on Saturday, when the typhoon (locally called Vinta) is finally out of the Philippines,” said Undersecretary Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Small roads were also closed off because of uprooted trees in the towns of Conner, Luna, Pudtol and Sta. Marcela in Cagayan; and in Apayao provinces where clearing operations have started, said Del Rosario, adding that old trees were knocked down as soon as Typhoon Krosa entered the top peripheries of northern Luzon, through the country’s eastern seaboard, from the Pacific Ocean on October 29.
As the typhoon moved westward, rivers were swollen rivers, closing Tawi Bridge in Penablanca, Cagayan; and Pinacanawan Bridge in Tuguegarao City, said Del Rosario, adding that all types of vehicles were not allowed to pass through these bridges until Friday.
Power outages occurred several northern provinces such as Cagayan, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte, said Del Rosario, adding that communication lines were also cut off in several areas.
The typhoon displaced 113 families or 382 people from Gonzaga, Cagayan province and Maconacon, Isabela province, said the social welfare department, adding the government has allotted P95 million (Dh7.9 million) for emergency relief. No fatalities were recorded.
The typhoon, packing maximum winds of 130km/hour near the centre and gustiness of 160km/hour, covered a wide diameter of 500km. It left five to 15mm of rain along its path as it crossed northern Luzon’s east to western seaboards, said the government-run weather station.
It was located 70km north and northwest of Laoag City early on Friday and was expected to move away, towards the western seaboard, to the South China Sea, 540km northwest of Laoag City on November 2.
