MANILA -- Singer-actor Sonny Parsons, best known as a member of the OPM novelty macho group Hagibis in the '70s and '80s, passed on Sunday, May 10, at 61 years old.
His son Jeff Parsons told ABS-CBN News that his father succumbed to suspected heart attack due to heat stroke between 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Tayabas, Quezon while on a charity drive with his motorcycle club, Law Enforcers Riders Association of the Philippines (LERAP).
“We do not have complete details yet of his final moments," said the younger Parsons who, as of this writing, is en route with his family from the Parsons residence in Marikina to the Islamic Center in Taguig.
He said the family has yet to finalize Parsons’ burial arrangement following Muslim tradition.
"He was a datu and we will see how to carry out his wish to be cremated," he said.
At the height of their success, Parsons and Hagibis churned out “Katawan,” “Legs” and other hit songs extolling Pinoy virility.
Parsons also transformed himself as an an action lead star in the '90s.
He was elected councilor of Marikina in the late '90s.
Parsons last performed with Hagibis at the Philippine Arena concert of Imelda Papin and was slated to tour Australia this year.
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TOKYO - Rescuers in Japan worked into a third day on Tuesday in an increasingly desperate search for survivors of a powerful typhoon that killed nearly 70 people and caused widespread destruction.
Hagibis slammed into Japan on Saturday night, unleashing fierce winds and "unprecedented" rain that triggered landslides and caused dozens of rivers to burst their banks.
By Tuesday morning, national broadcaster NHK put the toll at nearly 70, with more than a dozen missing. The government's confirmed death toll was lower, but it said it was still updating its information.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said there was no plan to slow rescue operations, with around 110,000 police, coast guard, firefighters and military troops involved.
"Currently in damaged areas rescue work and searches for the missing are continuing around the clock," Abe told parliament.
"Where rivers flooded, work is ongoing to fix spots where banks broke, and water is being pumped out where floods occurred," he added.
The prime minister's office said more than 3,000 people have been rescued in the wake of the disaster, which affected 36 of the country's 47 prefectures.
RAIN PROMPTS NEW WARNINGS
Government officials warned that more rain was expected throughout the day Tuesday in several parts of the country affected by the typhoon.
"Because of the heavy rain so far, water levels at rivers have risen and ground has softened in some places," said chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga.
"We ask people not to drop their guard and to remain fully alert," he told reporters.
Hagibis crashed into land packing gusts up to 216 kilometers (134 miles) per hour, but it was the storm's heavy rain that caused the most damage.
At least 176 rivers burst their banks, including in central Nagano, where a levee breach sent water from the Chikuma river gushing into residential neighborhoods and submerging bullet trains in a depot up to their windows.
Deaths were reported across many prefectures and included a man whose apartment was flooded, a municipal worker whose car was caught in rising waters and at least seven crew aboard a cargo ship that sank in Tokyo bay on Saturday night.
By Tuesday morning, some 34,000 households were still without power, and 133,000 homes had no water.
Tens of thousands of people spent Monday night in government shelters, with many unsure when they would be able to return home.
GOVERNMENT PLEDGES AID
The government pledged to offer financial support to affected regions, without specifying how much aid it would set aside.
"Support for the victims of the disaster is an urgent task," Abe said.
"There are concerns that the impact on daily life and economic activities may be long-lasting."
Among the areas affected by the storm was the Fukushima region, where several bags containing soil and plants collected during nuclear decontamination efforts were washed away.
"Ten bags out of 2,667 were swept into a river during the typhoon, but six of them were recovered yesterday," environment ministry official Keisuke Takagi told AFP, adding that the remaining four bags had been found and would be collected soon.
"Residents must be worried about the environment, but there are no reports that the bags were broken, so there will be nothing to worry about once they have been recovered safely," he said.
Hagibis caused transport chaos over a holiday weekend in Japan, grounding flights and halting train services.
By Tuesday, things were largely back to normal, though some flights remained cancelled and train services were partially disrupted where tracks or train stock were damaged by the storm.
The typhoon also caused disruption to sporting events, delaying Japanese Grand Prix qualifiers and forcing Rugby World Cup organizers to cancel three matches.
A crunch fixture pitting the hosts against Scotland went ahead on Sunday night, with Japan winning its first ever quarter finals spot.
source: newa.abs-cbn.com
The death toll from Typhoon Hagibis rose to 55 on Monday as search-and-rescue teams continued to operate in areas hit by flooding and landslides in central and eastern Japan.
Self-Defense Forces personnel, police and firefighters were carrying out operations, with 16 people missing and at least 100 injured, according to the latest Kyodo News tally.
At a disaster task force meeting, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government will do the utmost to support those affected by the typhoon and its aftereffects, adding an interagency team will be set up to improve shelters and help evacuees to find places to live.
About 38,000 people in 17 prefectures had evacuated from their homes by midday Monday, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, adding 3,700 homes had been flooded across the country.
"There is concern that the impact on lives and economic activities may persist," Abe said. "We will respond as best we can as we continue to think about those who are suffering."
He instructed Cabinet ministers to ensure infrastructure such as electricity and water supplies are quickly restored, with numerous areas suffering outages, and to supply food, water and other materials without awaiting requests from local authorities.
In a separate meeting, Defense Minister Taro Kono told senior officials to ensure the SDF make their best efforts in responding to the disaster.
The season's 19th typhoon dumped record rainfall that led to rivers bursting their banks, flooding residential districts and triggering landslides in 11 prefectures. Evacuees who could not return home continued to shelter in sites such as local schools.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said 37 rivers in Nagano, Fukushima, Ibaraki and three other prefectures had flooded.
In the central Japan city of Nagano, workers used more than 20 pumping vehicles to help assess damage to the drainage system caused when the Chikuma River's embankment collapsed.
In New York on Sunday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres extended his deep condolences to the families of victims, as well as the government and people of Japan, while wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Residents wade through floodwaters as members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force handle a flat-bottomed boat during relief operations in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis in Shibata district, Miyagi Prefecture on Sunday. Japan's military scrambled October 13 to rescue people trapped by flooding after powerful Typhoon Hagibis ripped across the country, killing at least 10 people and leaving more than a dozen missing.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
