1 dead, 44,500 displaced as storm Agaton hovers over the Visayas islands

AT LEAST one person was reported dead and another missing while more than 44,500 people have been displaced as storm Agaton, with international name Megi, dumped rains in central parts of the Philippines over the weekend, the national disaster management agency reported on Monday.  

Work and classes were suspended in at least 78 towns and cities as rains triggered flooding and landslides, especially in areas that were already getting isolated rains and thunderstorms in past weeks.  

In Cebu City, the regional center of Central Visayas, Mayor Michael L. Rama declared a state of calamity Sunday night.  

The tropical storm has weakened into a tropical depression as of Monday morning, according to state weather agency PAGASA, but heavy rainfall warnings remained up over the entire Visayas, including the western provinces of Negros Occidental, Iloilo, and others within Panay Island.   

Moderate to heavy rains were also expected in Bicol provinces, located in the southern part of Luzon.   

Sea travel remained suspended on Monday in central and eastern parts of the Visayas as well as northeastern parts of Mindanao. 

There were 3,049 passengers and cargo service workers stranded across 38 ports in Bicol, the Visayas islands, and northeastern Mindanao, based on the Philippine Coast Guard’s monitoring report as of Monday morning.   

About 70 road sections and bridges were affected, of which five national roads in Eastern Visayas were still closed to all types of vehicles as of Monday, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways.  

Power supply in parts of at least 15 towns and cities were cut off, according to the national disaster council’s report.  

Telecommunications services provider Globe Telecom, Inc. said power failure affected access to calls, text and data connectivity in several towns in the Visayas, particularly in the provinces of Leyte, Southern Leyte, Bohol, and Cebu. Globe said it would offer free call services and set up free charging stations in the affected areas.  

Agaton is forecast to “slowly loop” until Tuesday in the vicinity of northeastern portion of Leyte and the southern portions of Samar and Eastern Samar before emerging over the Philippine Sea” by Wednesday.   

PAGASA said Agaton may further weaken by Wednesday evening “as it becomes assimilated within the circulation of Malakas,” a severe tropical storm located east of the Philippines but not expected to affect the country. — Marifi S. Jara and Arjay L. Balinbin