More than 170 families have been evacuated from Baguio City and La Trinidad town in Benguet amid heavy rain from Tropical Sstorm Helen (Kai-Tak), the Office of Civil Defense said Wednesday.
OCD Cordillera OIC head Andrew Alex Uy also cited initial reports indicating the rain from Helen also forced the closure of some road networks in Benguet.
"Kung lumaki ang volume ng evacuees, baka kailangan natin ng tulong sa labas," Uy said in an interview on dzBB radio.
A separate report by the Philippine Information Agency said many families at Sitio Little Kibungan in Puguis, La Trinidad, Benguet have evacuated to Puguis Elementary School due to the heavy rain.
Helen made landfall at 1 a.m. in Cagayan province, and enhanced the southwest monsoon that brought rain on Luzon. It is expected to exit Philippine territory on Thursday.
In contrast, the OCD in Cagayan Valley, the region where Helen made landfall, said there was "minimal damage" to the region so far.
Preemptive evacuation
Uy cited initial reports indicating more than five hours of heavy rain over the region, including Kalinga and Apayao. He said there were reports of landslides.
However, he said preemptive evacuation had been condudcted in Baguio City, and areas in Kalinga and Apayao.
"May affected na road network ng Benguet, may reported closed roads, pero ang iba nabuksan agad, one lane passable," he added.
Agriculture
He said there may be damage to agriculture, but they cannot make any assessment until after the storm passes.
When asked if there was any increase in prices of vegetables, he said there is no such report so far.
Meanwhile, in Cagayan Valley, OCD regional director Norma Talosig said the rain had stopped in Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province.
She said there was no report of floods affecting houses, at least as of Wednesday noon.
"Generally hindi ganoon ka-devastating si 'Helen' (Generally 'Helen' has not been devastating)," she said in a separate interview on dzBB. — RSJ, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
