MANILA, 23 July 2003 — Typhoon Imbudo, slammed into the northern Philippines yesterday, leaving at least six people officials said.
A report by the Office of Civil Defense said four of those killed were high school students in the island province of Romblon, about 250 kilometers southeast of Manila.
The students were on their way home from school in the town of San Agusting amid stormy weather when a tree toppled and crashed into the tricycle they were riding on.
Packing winds of up to 230 kilometers per hour, Imbudo (locally named “Harurot”) is the strongest typhoon to hit the country in five years, according to the weather bureau.
The students were identified as Clarissa Espeg, Chona Mortel, Eric Salazar, and Jovelyn dela Vega, all of Bachawan National High School in San Agustin town.
Police said tricycle driver Eleodoro Orencio was also killed and two of his sons were among eight others now under treatment for injuries.
The sixth fatality reported so far was a drowning victim in the town of Alcala in the northern province of Pangasinan, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
A child was reported to have drowned in southern town of Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao province during torrential rains, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council. Local authorities evacuated about 12,000 people due to flooding.
The weather bureau known by its acronym PAGASA, PAGASA, raised the storm warning to four, the highest level, in three northern provinces before dawn yesterday, but lowered it to level three by late afternoon after the eye of the typhoon hit land.
The government suspended classes and work in regions lying in the path of Imbudo, which had sustained winds of 190 kph (119 mph) and gusts of up to 230 kph (144 mph) when it made landfall in Isabela province on the main island of Luzon. The typhoon weakened after slamming into Luzon’s Sierra Madre mountains.
Storm alerts remained over 18 other northern provinces, where coastal areas will be “rough to very rough and extremely dangerous” to all types of vessels, according to the weather bureau.
In Manila, authorities suspended classes in elementary schools. Philippine Airlines also canceled flights to central cities of Legazpi in Bicol and Tagbilaran in Bohol.
Thousands of commuters in the capital of 10 million people were stranded when the Light Rail Transit system was halted for two hours. More than 2,000 ferry passengers were also stuck in southern Luzon due to high winds and rough seas.
Floods closed several major roads on Luzon while rock falls forced authorities to close the scenic Kennon mountain road to the northern resort city of Baguio.
Late in the day, the typhoon was over Ilocos Sur province, about 300 kilometers northwest of Manila, its sustained winds weakening. It was moving northwest at 24 kph toward the South China Sea.
Reports said winds had atoppled trees and electric poles in Ilagan, the capital of Isabela. The typhoon caused blackouts in Isabela and nearby Cagayan province.
Also heavily affected were Aurora, Calayan Islands, Babuyan Islands, the Ilocos provinces, the provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao, Abra, Mountain Province, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya.
An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines each year. The most destructive one struck Leyte Island in November 1991 and unleashed massive floods in Ormoc City, drowning about 5,000 people. (Additional Input from agencies)
