Typhoon Santi cuts swath of destruction across Luzon

After making landfall over Aurora Friday night, Typhoon Santi left parts of the province without power and roads blocked with fallen trees. In Dingalan town where Santi made landfall, Mayor Zenaida Padiernos told radio dzBB early Saturday that at least 400 families from her town had evacuated to safer ground. Padiernos added that as of dawn Saturday, the rain had stopped and wind had abated. She expects casualty reports and reports on the extent of destruction to come in later in the day. "Mamaya maglinis kami," she added. A separate report by dzBB's Carlo Mateo said many areas of Aurora province where littered with debris, including cables, tree branches and galvanized iron sheets. NLEX, sea travel Meanwhile, Santi affected the North Luzon Expressway, which reported at 6:01 a.m. that the section of the road connecting San Miguel, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija was not passable to light vehicles. Also, traffic was building before the San Fernando southbound exit due to fallen trees affecting the carriageway. Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard reported early Saturday that at least 2,457 sea travellers were stranded as of 10 p.m. Friday. These these included 166 passengers in Metro Manila, 1,557 in southern Luzon, and 734 in the Bicol region. — DVM, GMA News