Typhoon Ondoy affects 280,000

(Update) 42 killed, 20 missing in Rizal

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Around 280,000 affected by ‘Ondoy’

MANILA – At least 50 people were reported dead as tropical storm Ondoy lashed the Philippines, bringing massive flooding.

In an interview with dzMM at 3:15 am on Sunday, National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) chairman Gilbert Teodoro said 280,00 people were affected by the storm.

In Rizal province, Teodoro said 23 died in Tanay, 10 in Angono, 5 in Baras, 3 in Montalban, 1 in Teresa. Twenty people are still missing in Tanay, Rizal, he added.

In Metro Manila, 5 were killed: 3 in Muntinlupa City, and 2 in Quezon City.

One died in Calaca, Batangas, and another died in Palawan, Quezon.

One person was also killed and one missing in the Cordillera region.

Teodoro said over 41,200 people are in 92 evacuation centers.

Various government agencies and civic groups have rescued 3,688 people from rooftops.

Rizal Governor Casimiro Ynares earlier said 42 were killed in Rizal province as entire towns were inundated.

Appeals for calm

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, speaking on dzMM on Sunday morning, advised the public to stay calm and obey the instructions of local government executives and civil defense authorities.

“We shall manage our way out of this latest natural calamity. Let us band together and look out for each other in the finest Filipino tradition of caring and sharing,” she said.

On Saturday, Arroyo visited Marikina City, one of the badly-flooded areas in Metro Manila, where at least 1,000 people were reported trapped on rooftops.

In an interview with dzMM on Sunday at around 1:40 am, Marikina Mayor Maria Lourdes Fernando said they began the rescue operations at 10 am on Saturday, and by early Sunday, she said the number of people still on rooftops had already fallen to around 100.

Fernando said floods in the city were subsiding as she advised residents still on rooftops to stay put and wait for the rubber boats that have been sent to rescue those stranded.

No classes in Marikina

She said there will likely be no classes on Monday in Marikina City due to the big damage caused by tropical storm Ondoy. She said everyone’s help will be needed in the clean-up.

Fernando said the city only had 7 rubber boats for its rescue operation in Marikina City. To help in the effort, President Arroyo had sent 8 amphibious vehicles to Marikina.

Asked about those stranded in SSS Village, Fernando said there was still no rescue operation there since it was not beside overflowing rivers. She said there was no danger to life in SSS Village, especially since the floods were subsiding already.

She said the affected area of Malanday in Marikina had not been accessed yet.

Fernando said those affected in Provident Village would be evacuated to Barangka Elementary School.

Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) Chairman Richard Gordon told radio dzMM on Sunday morning it had sent out 19 rubber boats to Metro Manila, Rizal, and Bulacan. Seven were sent to Marikina, 2 to Cainta, and 2 to Pasig.

Gordon said around 200 people have been rescued by the PNRC. He said it took hours to reach the affected areas due to the flooded roads.

Open mall parking

Meanwhile, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the president ordered Teodoro to compel mall owners to open their parking spaces to “accommodate for free” stranded vehicles along EDSA and other major roads in the metropolis, including the drivers and passengers

“NDCC is asserting this under its calamity powers. So we are calling on mall owners to allow the use of their parking spaces,” Remonde said.

He said Teodoro is contacting the mall owners so that the order can be implemented.

Remonde said the order was given after President Arroyo saw the thousands of stranded vehicles along major roads. Clearing the roads will help in the rescue operations in badly-affected areas.

Annie Garcia, speaking for the SM Malls, said they had already opened their parking spaces to stranded vehicles.

Teodoro had ordered that rescue efforts be focused in Marikina City, Cainta in Rizal, and Pasig City.

The government also ordered the MRT and LRTA to operate the metro trains for 24 hours to help stranded citizens get to their homes and work places.

A temporary command post was put up by the MMDA and the NDCC at the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Katipunan Avenue which will serve as nerve center for the rescue operations in Marikina and Cainta. — reports from Agence France-Presse, dzMM, ABS-CBN News