Storm causes floods, knocks out power in north Philippines – Quincy Herald-Whig

It was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 kph and gustiness of 90 kph.

“There’s massive flooding here in La Union”, Castro said, adding that 11 towns in the coastal province were inundated with floodwaters and villagers were stranded in their homes.

According to the AP, Linfa is the fifth storm to hit the Philippines this year and the first after an exceedingly dry summer that parched farmlands and dams that supply tap water and irrigation.

The response cluster of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Egay was not a very strong storm.

MALACAÑANG hailed Monday the “effective coordination” among national government agencies and local government units (LGUs) in minimizing or avoiding any casualty from Tropical Storm “Egay”. “In San Fernando City, the major roads are no longer passable and the houses under water”, Castro said on Sunday. “We don’t want any lose of life or any accidents”, he said.

No injuries were reported from Egay’s incursion, except for a carabao that drowned and was recovered in San Mariano town in Isabela.

The storm weakened after crossing the region on Sunday but at least 17 areas were placed under storm warning signals, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

Public storm warning signal #2 remained in effect in the Luzon provinces of Batanes, Cagayan including Calayan and Babuyan group of Islands, Apayao, Kalinga, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Abra.

Residents of these areas were warned of possible flashfloods and landslides.

“The government continues to warn fishermen and small sea vessels against sailing to sea due to the strong waves brought about by the typhoon”.

At 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, the center of Egay was estimated at 320 km west southwest of Basco, Batanes and is forecast to move north at 7 kph, PAGASA said in its severe weather bulletin issued at 9:30 a.m.

Chan-hom skirted Guam yesterday and was expected to move northwest towards eastern Taiwan and the northwest Pacific over the next two or three days. MODIS imagery also showed an isolated area of deep convection, thunderstorms and clouds, pushed over the southwest quadrant of the low-level center, as a result of northeasterly wind shear.