Over 3,700 families affected by Bising so far —OCD

At least 3,773 families have been affected so far by Bising (international name: Danas), the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) said Sunday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, OCD officer-in-charge Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV said the affected families are equivalent to 13,006 individuals from the Ilocos Region (Region I), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and Cagayan Valley (Region II).

However, Alejandro noted that the number may increase since the latest data is an initial report from the OCD’s field offices.

He added that there have been no reported casualties so far.

“Minor in a way itong Bising, but ito naman tinitingnan 'yung ating paghahanda dahil pumasok na itong typhoon season at tuloy-tuloy na itong pag-prepare at paghanda,” Alejandro said.

(Bising has a minor effect on the country, but we're looking into our preparation since we're in the typhoon season, and so we continue to prepare and be ready.)

He said that there was some flooding in Regions I and II, and CAR, but it is currently subsiding.

There were also five reported impassable road sections, but Alejandro said clearing operations are ongoing.

He added that Bising also caused partial damage to houses.

In a statement, OCD reported that five families were evacuated at the Acupan Elementary School, while eight other families stayed in nearby communities, after the Acupan community in Barangay Virac, Itogon, Benguet was hit by a landslide. 

OCD noted that the recent incident is the second landslide that has hit the area in less than two weeks. 

The first incident was on June 22, which killed three small-scale miners and displaced 44 families.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development, meanwhile, delivered food packs to 235 families affected by flooding in Narvacan, Ilocos Sur.

On Friday, Bising exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

It developed into a severe tropical storm on Saturday night and is expected to reach typhoon category on Sunday.

PAGASA said Danas may re-enter PAR on Sunday night or early Monday morning briefly, and make landfall over mainland China on Tuesday.

Danas' trough is affecting Extreme Northern Luzon on Sunday, bringing cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms over Batanes and Babuyan Islands. Moderate to at times heavy rains may possibly result in flash floods or landslides.

At 3 a.m. Sunday, Danas was located 400 km west of Itbayat, Batanes, packing maximum sustained winds of 110 km/h near the center and with gustiness of up to 135 km/h.

Danas is moving north northeastward slowly toward Taiwan. —KG, GMA Integrated News