As we Manila residents gear up for Typhoon Frank (i.e. Fengshen) in the next few hours, disturbing reports are starting to come in of the havoc wrought in
Iloilo City, especially, where the
53-year old Moroboro Irrigation Dam at
Dingle appears to have burst, leaving at least 30,000 city residents stranded in the rooftops,
according to Iloilo City mayor Jed Mabilog. Based on the
DZMM reports, Panay Island appears to have been quite badly hit (no word yet about Boracay). The coming of this storm was not very widely publicized, and I hope that Iloilo City and other stricken areas had an evacuation plan in place, lest we suffer another
Ormoc tragedy (brought about by
Typhoon Uring in 1991).
DZMM is also reporting that a Sulpicio Lines ferry,
The Princess of Stars, had ran aground
Sibuyan Island, with over 700 persons onboard. The ferry had left Metro Manila last night and was bound for Cebu when it was confronted by the storm. No reports yet on rescue operations
, but it appears the vessel did not sink, buti na lang. Sulpicio Lines, as one may recall, was the owner of the
MV Dona Paz, whose 1987 sinking was the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history.
Manila endured fitful bouts of rain all day, but it is relatively quiet right now. Reports were that the storm was bound to hit the metropolis by tomorrow morning, so we are expecting the rain and winds to intensify as night turns into dawn into day. Once the storm nears, power is expected to conk out, so we are charging our cellphones, iPods and rechargeable gadgets. Hope that it does not turn out too bad, for Manila and the rest of the country.
UPDATE: Oresama,
blogging from Negros (I think) over at
View From the Sugar Island, reports on Iloilo City:
Both the city and province are inundiated. People are desperately seeking help and are stuck in the rooftops, INEPT GOVERNMENT NO.1 will send help INSTANTLY RIGHT? NO, HELP WILL ARRIVE TOMORROW OUR OFFICIALS NEED THEIR BEAUTY SLEEP. Supplies and rescue boats (THAT ARE REALLY NEEDED RIGHT NOW BY RESCUE TEAMS) will arrive tomorrow in Iloilo at 6:00 am via C-130. Congratulations, your ineptitude is world-class.
The rescue efforts are being made difficult by the darkness and lack of EQUIPMENT. As I type, flood victims stuck in the rooftops are asking for help through SMS to be rescued. The places where people are stuck are Pavia, Mandurriao, Jaro, and Sta. Barbara etc.
I hope this reaches the
National Disaster Coordinating Council.
