MANILA – As of 12:00 AM, September 28, 2009: Tropical storm Ondoy (International Name: Ketsana) has left the country with a trail of 95 people dead, 29 missing and 247,555 affected by floods, reports from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).
President Arroyo was quoted saying: “We had more rains than Katrina,†based on the report presented by Dr. Prisco Nilo, the chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) at a briefing of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) held in Camp Aguinaldo on Sunday.
Ondoy hit Northern Luzon, with a record of 455 millimeters of rain in a span of 12 hours that inundated at least 25 percent of Metro Manila, the volume of which was said to be more than the 390-millimeter average rainfall for the whole month of September.
Ondoy’s aftermath
The government declared a state of calamity in the following areas: Metro Manila, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Catanduanes, Aurora, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac, Bataan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon, Marinduque, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Quirino, Mindoro Oriental and Occidental.
Rizal had the highest number of casualties due to landslide and flashflood, while the metropolis was worst affected in terms of flooding and damage.
Hundreds of residents went up their rooftops for safety as 45 villages in Manila, Marikina, Makati, Pasay, Pasig, Valenzuela, Malabon, Muntinlupa, Quezon City and San Juan were submerged in floods.
About 47,261 persons were provided shelter in 92 evacuation centers in Rizal, Metro Manila and Bulacan.
The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) cut off electric services to some flooded areas to prevent accidents, spokesman Joel Zaldarriaga said.
Death toll was said to rise as rescue operations continue in the affected areas.
President Arroyo directed authorities Saturday to extend all efforts to rescue and assist the residents affected by Ondoy.
“Attend to the food and medical needs of the displaced, maintain public utilities and other essential services and preserve public order after the crisis is past. I ask you as well to donate clothes, blankets, food stuffs, medicines and other essentials that will surely be needed by those among us who are victimized by this calamityâ€, she said.
Ondoy may just be deleted from the list of storm codenames
Pagasa officials are now studying whether or not the codename Ondoy should be removed from the list of names of future weather disturbances due to the destruction it has caused.
The weather bureau had previously deleted the codename Frank after said typhoon claimed almost 1,000 lives on June 21, 2008.
A list of names of storms that will hit the country until 2016 was prepared by Pagasa in 2000, just about a year after the bureau launched the  “Name A Bagyo Contest†under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Out of about 18,000 entries received, Pagasa picked 140 codenames.
Typhoons that will visit the country this year have been named as follows:Â Pepeng, Quedan, Ramil, Santi, Tino, Urduja, Vinta, Wilma, Yolanda and Zoraida.
Sources:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=509275&publicationSubCategoryId=63
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/component/content/article/42-rokstories/2863-banner-story-ondoy-leaves-73-dead
http://beta2.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=509277&publicationSubCategoryId=63
(AP Photo/Mike Alquinto)
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This is terrible news I wonder why the rescue efforts were so slow. And NDCC didn’t even care to seek help from other countries when people have been stranded in their homes for more than 2 days without food ad water. The government should be held liable for such a lousy, irresponsible handling of this disaster.
?? Where did my comment go?
ei!! sna mtaposna poh ung bagyong undoy
[...] Ondoy leaves RP with 95 dead, 29 missing [...]