New tropical depression on its way as authorities assess typhoon Quinta’s damage
THE PHILIPPINES is bracing for another tropical depression, to be named Rolly, as authorities take stock of the damage left by typhoon Quinta (international name: Molave) that exited the country on Tuesday morning. Rolly was located 2,125 kilometers east of central Luzon as of Tuesday afternoon, based on the 5 p.m. advisory from weather bureau PAGASA. It is forecasted to enter the Philippine area by Thursday afternoon and possibly strengthen into a severe tropical storm by the weekend.
DAMAGE
Meanwhile, at least one person has been confirmed to have died and one missing in Negros Oriental due to typhoon Quinta, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported. As of Oct. 27, almost 28,000 families were affected in the regions of Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan), with over 6,500 families still in evacuation centers. Damage to agriculture has reached P401.73 million, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). In a bulletin on Tuesday, the DA said initial assessment showed 16,531 farmers have been affected and 14,252 hectares of farm lands were damaged in the regions of Ilocos, Calabarzon, Bicol, and Western Visayas. “Affected commodities include rice, corn, high value crops, fisheries, livestock, irrigation and agricultural facilities,” the DA said. Typhoon Quinta also disrupted power supply with 15 provinces reported to have experienced outages. The National Electrification Administration (NEA) said 23 electric cooperatives had varying degrees of power cuts. Total power interruptions were recorded in Batangas, Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Camariñes Sur, Ticao Island, Sorsogon and Albay. Partial interruptions were experienced in Cagayan, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon, Romblon, Masbate, Catanduanes and Aklan. “Our electric cooperatives have already dispatched teams to assess the damage caused by Typhoon Quinta to their distribution facilities and to restore power as quickly and safely as possible,” NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong said in a statement.
The Department of Energy also said five transmission lines have been affected by Quinta, based on the report of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. Three out of eight dams across the country are undergoing spilling operations, but the National Power Corporation assured that dam discharge “will not cause flooding in the warning zone.” These three are: Binga Dam in Benguet; and those in Lake Lanao and the Agus Hydroelectric Plant, both in Lanao del Sur. — with reports from Revin Mikhael D. Ochave and Angelica Y. Yang
