PALAWAN— Five people lost their lives in Aborlan, Palawan, after their van was swept away by floodwaters amid heavy rains caused by the shear line.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies following the incident on Sunday evening. A child was rescued from the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Puerto Princesa City has declared a state of calamity due to widespread flooding.
According to the city government, 24 barangays were submerged, affecting over 3,000 residents, 1,000 farmers, and nearly 800 hectares of agricultural land.
In Oriental Mindoro, flooding also impacted Baco town, where more than 11,000 families were affected. The damage to agriculture in the area has been estimated at P9 million.
The State Weather Bureau reported that Palawan will continue to experience cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms on Wednesday due to the trough of a low-pressure area.
Floods Force Thousands to Evacuate
Severe flooding caused by relentless rains has displaced thousands and claimed multiple lives in Palawan, as three weather systems—the intertropical convergence zone, shear line, and a low-pressure area—battered the province’s southwestern region.
Authorities recovered a vehicle on Tuesday morning in Barangay Kamuning, where Nasad and his wife, Evelyn, were found strapped to their seats, lifeless.
The widespread flooding led to the evacuation of 1,754 families (5,326 individuals) from the towns of Aborlan, Narra, Sofronio Española, and Brooke’s Point.
In response, the mayors of Puerto Princesa City and the affected municipalities—Aborlan, Narra, Quezon, Rizal, Sofronio Española, Brooke’s Point, and Kalayaan—suspended work in government and private offices, as well as classes in all public and private schools, on Monday and Tuesday.
According to the latest report from the Puerto Princesa City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), 391 families (1,433 people) from Barangays Bancao-Bancao, San Miguel, San Pedro, San Manuel, San Jose, Sta. Lourdes, Tiniguiban, Sicsican, Irawan, and Iwahig have been relocated to evacuation centers.
Landslides in Aborlan caused road closures, leaving motorists stranded on Sunday and Monday. Floodwaters also swamped a section of the national highway in Sitio Tagbarungis, stranding vehicles on Monday morning.
HISTORIC RAINFALL
State weather bureau reported that the province received a record-breaking 342 millimeters of rain over the weekend, surpassing the previous 50-year record of 269.3 mm set in December 1975.
It compared the extraordinary rainfall volume to that of Typhoon Ondoy (international name: Ketsana), which devastated Metro Manila in 2009. Ondoy had an hourly rainfall of 157 mm, but it lasted longer.
It experienced 150 mm per hour, though for a shorter duration.
While the shear line was the primary cause of the downpour, Pajarilla noted that the low-pressure area over Palawan intensified the situation.
STATE OF CALAMITY DECLARED
During its regular session on Tuesday, the Puerto Princesa City Council approved a resolution declaring a state of calamity, following a request from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The declaration will allow the city government to access part of its P86-million quick response fund to provide aid to affected residents.