5 flooded Tarlac towns placed under state of calamity

Five municipalities in Tarlac province have been placed under state of calamity in the wake of the heavy rains and floods brought by tropical storm Henry, radio station DZBB reported Wednesday. The provincial council of Tarlac issued a resolution for the order that covered the municipalities of Gerona, Moncada, Paniqui, Ramos and La Paz. In Moncada alone, some 100 relocated families were still unable to return to their houses because floodwaters remained high in their areas. The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said in its latest advisory that six people died while two others were missing as tropical storm Henry continued to batter central Luzon, Cagayan Valley and Ilocos region. The fatalities were identified as Nelson Agrian and Ernesto Guting, who were hit by lighting in Isabela; Loreto Ramos, Napoleon Ciscar, and two-year-old Emer Celso, who drowned in Isabela, Quirino and Pampanga, respectively; and Francisco Lumanog, who was hit by a tree in Isabela. As of posting time, operations for the rescue and retrieval of two-year-old Rhea Ciscar and Rosie Ciscar, 50, both of Quirino province, were still ongoing. By Wednesday, at least 106,475 families or 476,027 persons have been affected by the weather disturbance. Of the figure, 2,898 families or 14,502 persons were staying in evacuation centers set up by relief workers. About P33 million worth of crops in the Central Luzon alone were reportedly destroyed by heavy rains and surging floodwaters. Meanwhile in Cagayan Valley, the NDCC said seven houses were swept away by flashfloods while 10 other houses have been damaged. Also, a number of major thoroughfares in the affected regions were still closed to motorists due to massive flooding. All roads in the Cordillera Administrative Region remained open but authorities warned motorists against possible landslides. State weather forecasters have lowered all public storm signal warnings as Henry moved farther away from the country. They last spotted Henry 520 km west of Vigan in Ilocos Sur or 500 km south southeast of Hong Kong. The storm carried strogner maximum sustained winds of 95 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 120 kph. It moved west northwest at 13 kph towards the Hainan province in Southern China. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Henry should be in the vicinity of Hainan province by Friday morning.<b>-GMANews.TV</b>