After scare, 'Ramil' spares Luzon, heads for Japan

(As of 11:55 p.m.) After keeping much of Luzon on edge for over a week, Tropical Storm Ramil (Lupit) continued its erratic path but away from the country and toward Japan Saturday, sparing the Philippines a third disaster in less than a month. Before midnight Saturday, the state weather bureau lifted lifted all public storm signal warnings in the country. According to the 10:30 p.m. weather bulletin of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the storm was last spotted 450 km northeast of Basco, Batanes, moving slowly northeast at 15 kph. Ramil, which earlier threatened northern Luzon with powerful winds of up to 175 kph, was blowing at drastically reduced maximum sustained winds of 95 kph, with gustiness of up to 120 kph. The storm is expected to be 780 km northeast of Basco, Batanes or 100 km southeast of Okinawa, southern Japan by Sunday night, Pagasa said. Weather forecasters said there is little possibility for Ramil to return to the country after sparing the Philippines of its wrath. Welcome respite It's erratic path and eventual exit was a welcome respite for a nation still reeling from the impact of back to back cyclones that left massive destruction and killed hundreds in northern Philippines in a span of two weeks. Based on the latest count of the National Disaster Coordinating Center (NDCC), Tropical Storms Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng left a total of 929 confirmed deaths, 736 injured, and 84 missing. Ondoy dumped record-breaking rainfall in Metro Manila and nearby provinces on Sept. 26, inundating plenty of villages that rendered tens thousands of people homeless, left 464 dead, 529 injured and 37 missing. Pepeng slammed into Cagayan province on Oct. 3, destroying crops and properties. As if that were not enough, it returned twice to northern Luzon, dumping nonstop rain that unleashed landslides and caused widespread flooding. The NDCC’s latest count placed Pepeng’s death toll at 465, mostly from landslides in Baguio, Benguet and Mountain Province. Pagasa weather bureau chief Nathaniel Cruz told GMANews.TV earlier said that even though Ramil has not directly crossed northern Luzon as earlier forecast, it has battered parts of the Cagayan province with strong winds and rains in the past few days. Its effect had also been felt largely in the Calayan, Babuyan and Batanes island groups in extreme northern Philippines. "Parang nag-landfall na rin siya kung tutuusin because of the swath of rain (It already made landfall in a way, because of the swath of rain)," he said. Pagasa also said that Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija has stopped releasing water as Ramil move further away from the country. The Ambuklao and Binga Dams in Benguet, however, continue to release water as of posting time. By Monday morning Ramil is expected to be 950 km northeast of Basco, Batanes or at 230 km east of Okinawa, Southern Japan. Pagasa reminded residents in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes under storm signals to take precautions against possible flashfloods and landslides. It also reminded those living along the coast in areas under signals #2 and #3 to be on alert against storm surge and big waves. Good news In a separate interview with QTV's Balitanghali Saturday, Cruz said their monitoring showed no weather disturbance was trailing behind tropical storm Ramil in the Pacific Ocean. Cruz said this would mean the country would be free from any low pressure area at least in the next two to three days, during which time the country is expected to have fair weather. "Good news dahil wala tayong nakikitang sama ng panahon na sumusunod (This is a good news for us that we see no weather disturbances aside from Ramil)," Cruz said. But the Pagasa official still advised the public not to let their guards down saying weather activities happening at sea could become unpredictable. Cruz also said that even if Ramil is on its way out of Philippine territory, fishermen are still discouraged from setting sail since water in affected areas could still become turbulent. - with Joseph Holandes Ubalde and Andreo Calonzo, GMANews.TV