A taxi passenger died while five others were injured as typhoon Fabian unleashed its fury in Luzon, authorities said on Saturday, July 24.
Based on the collated data of the Office of Civil Defense, more than 25,000 people were also forced to flee their homes mostly due to the effects of the massive flooding.
The biggest number of evacuees were reported in Marikina with 14,892 when the alert level was raised after the Marikina River reached the critical level. Almost all of them, however, were allowed to go home.
Other evacuees were reported in Mindoro provinces with more 7,025 people; 50 people in Kalinga and Benguet mostly due to landslides; 1,776 people in Rizal; and a total of 1,030 in Cavite and Batangas.
On the reported casualty, a taxi passenger died while two others were injured when the vehicle they were riding was hit by a fallen tree in Baguio City.
Three more people, all of them are internet linemen, were also injured in Pagbilao, Quezon after they were also hit by a fallen tree.
For its part, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has deployed more than 1,000 police personnel to assist in relief operations for persons displaced by extreme weather conditions in various parts of Luzon.
PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said the 1,064 PNP personnel were deployed in 132 evacuation centers across Luzon which are now providing temporary shelter to 1,755 families composed of 5,858 individuals.
Eleazar also alerted top officials of the PNP to muster Food Bank resources to augment national and local government support to these evacuees.
Based on PNP monitoring, a total of 64 roads were rendered impassable in Metro Manila, CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), MIMAROPA (Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) and Cordillera due to floods or landslide while 57 areas experienced power outages and seven franchise areas are without mobile communication service.
Eleazar instructed the PNP Highway Patrol Group to field mobile units to assist motorists along national highways in navigating through detour routes to avoid road hazards, particularly cargo vehicles transporting food products.
Meanwhile, 539, police search and rescue (SAR) personnel have been deployed in five Luzon regions where emergency situations have been reported. On standby are 6,366 police (SAR) personnel and 2,129 Reactionary Standby Support Force (RSSF) awaiting orders to be deployed in distressed communities, particularly in 85 flooded areas in Regions, 1, 3, 4B, NCR and COR.
“These units are equipped with 1,585 vehicles, 90 inflatable boats, 2868 life vests, 1,037 radio sets, and 292 power generator sets,” said Eleazar.
Eleazar likewise instructed local PNP Units to initiate road clearing operations for hazards and debris to allow unimpeded passage of emergency response vehicles, relief supplies and commercial cargo.