Laguna province was placed under a state of calamity after most of its towns were hit by floods caused by tropical cyclone “Basyang.” Gov. Emilio Ramon Ejercito said the provincial government was forced to declare a state of calamity because 27 out of its 30 towns had been flooded. “We declared a state of calamity Wednesday. So many areas had been affected, about 27 of 30 towns were flooded,” Ejercito said in an interview on dzBB radio. He said, as of Thursday morning, many of the families brought to evacuation centers Wednesday had started to return to their homes. Commercial activity also resumed early Thursday as the weather improved. Ejercito also said he and other government officials were to start distributing relief goods to affected residents. “The weather is improving, hopefully everything is under control. We will be busy giving relief goods,” he said. On the other hand, Ejercito appealed to squatter families not to return to areas near Laguna de Bay, which he said had been perennially flooded. He said dredging of the bay could not start because of the squatters' insistence on staying there. At least 27 water tributaries had been clogged with garbage from these squatters, he said. Ejercito added the problem has become so bad that the water at the bay now contains mercury, which he blamed for the low IQ of children living there. Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, in an interview on dwIZ radio, said the displaced families in Laguna had gone home, but not those whose houses were still flooded. Meanwhile, dzBB's Denver Trinidad reported residents of Muntinlupa City near Laguna de Bay were evacuated to safer grounds. Mayor Aldrin San Pedro ordered at least 22 families evacuated to the Central Elementary School in Barangay Poblacion. –GMANews.TV Power back after typhoon kills 26 in Philippines In Metro Manila, electricity was restored, flights resumed and schools reopened Thursday after the first typhoon of the year killed at least 26 people and plunged most of the main northern island into darkness. Thirty-eight people remained missing, mostly fishermen caught at sea by the fury of typhoon Basyang, internationally codenamed Conson. Electricity was restored to most of the metropolis and nearby provinces after Bsyang, packing winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, slammed ashore late Tuesday and early Wednesday, toppling power lines, downing trees and ripping off roofs and tarpaulin billboards. Many died while fleeing the typhoon's fury, regional disaster operations officer Fred Bragas said. The 26 deaths were spread over six provinces and areas near Manila. The Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms a year, gaining a reputation as the welcome mat for the most destructive cyclones from the Pacific. Last year, back-to-back typhoons inundated Manila and outlying provinces, killing nearly 1,000 people. Several people were killed by falling debris or electrocuted. One man drowned trying to save a dozen pigs in a swollen lake south of Manila, while his companion was swept away and is missing, Bragas said. A concrete wall collapsed and pinned four carpenters to death while a landslide killed a man in his house in nearby Tagaytay city. The man's son remains missing in the landslide, Bragas said. – Agencies In Quezon province, four fishermen drowned and 18 others were rescued after huge waves and strong winds battered their motor boats as they raced toward an island to seek shelter late Tuesday, provincial Gov. David Suarez told The Associated Press. Villagers and the coast guard have launched a search for 27 missing fishermen, he said. Three vessels, including an LPG carrier, sank during the typhoon and most of the crew were rescued while some are missing. Another nine fishermen were rescued after big waves overturned their boats off the island province of Catanduanes, regional military spokesman Maj. Harold Cabunoc said. The other 10 remained missing.
