A family gather around their makeshift shelter from wind and rain along the bay walk in Manila on October 30, 2018, as Typhoon “Rosita” made landfall north of the capital.
/AFP
BAGUIO CITY – A 58-year-old man has been declared missing after he was last seen crossing a flood control embankment along Binongan River at Lacub town in Abra province as typhoon “Rosita” crossed Luzon on Tuesday.
Search and rescue operations have been undertaken to locate Vidancio “Ben” Vicentio Villaros, according to the Abra disaster risk reduction and management office.
About 77 families (277 individuals) were evacuated from flood-vulnerable areas in the province. Of these, 63 families (233 individuals) went to relocation centers.
A sinkhole opened up at a portion of the Danglas-Ilocos Norte Road prompting authorities to open only one lane to motorists.
Maribeth Tulic, a social worker, said in a social media post: “We are gunning for zero casualties as we did during Typhoon Ompong (in September). So far there are no casualties or injured and we are glad that the people heeded our warning.“
Typhoon “Rosita” (international name: Yutu) on Tuesday slammed into the country with fierce winds that sheared off roofs and snapped trees in half, after thousands were evacuated ahead of the powerful storm’s arrival.
Cutting a path just south of last month’s typhoon “Ompong” (international name: Mangkhut), which killed dozens, the new storm tore across the country’s most populous island and dumped heavy rains along the way.
Search crews were just beginning to assess the damage wrought by Rosita, which made landfall early Tuesday with sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness up to 210 kph.
Authorities said they were verifying reports of one person missing after a boat capsized as the storm was barreling toward the disaster-prone nation.
“We see some branches on the roads and so on, but it is the flooding that is destroying houses here,” International Federation of the Red Cross spokeswoman Caroline Haga told AFP from Nueva Vizcaya province. “People are needing to be rescued.”
Nearly 10,000 people fled their homes ahead of Rosita’s arrival as they live in low-lying areas susceptible to flooding and rivers tend to overflow their banks.