A TOTAL of 335 people were evacuated in the province of Aurora as Tropical Storm Pepito brought heavy rains that caused flooding in several areas, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Wednesday, October 21, 2020.
NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said 253 of them were staying in 13 evacuation centers in the province.
In the province of Pampanga, Timbal said 19 barangays in Macabebe and one barangay in Masantol were inundated with floodwaters as deep as three feet.
However, Timbal said there was no reported evacuation in the said province.
"As of this reporting, wala pong major untoward incident na naiulat sa atin dito sa NDRRMC, no casualties pa rin po tayo," said Timbal.
Several roads and bridges were, however, rendered impassable due to flooding.
In Cagayan Valley, the Philippine Information Agency in Cagayan Valley reported that the following were not passable as of Wednesday morning: the Annafunan Overflow Bridge in Echague town in Isabela; and Pinacanauan Overflow Bridge, road going to Centro 1 and Caggay Teresita Avenue in Tuguegarao City.
The storm made landfall at around 9 p.m. Tuesday, October 20, near San Ildefonso Peninsula in Casiguran, Aurora, according to state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, Pagasa said the storm was spotted at 115 kilometers northwest of Dagupan City, Pangasinan with maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour (km/h) near the center and gustiness of up to 90 km/h. It continued to move west northwestward at 30 km/h.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) number 2 was hoisted over La Union, the northern portion of Zambales (Iba, Palauig, Masinloc, Candelaria, Santa Cruz), and the western portion of Pangasinan (Bani, Anda, Bolinao, Agno, Dasol, Burgos, Alaminos City, Mabini, Sual, Infanta, Bugallon, Labrador, Aguilar, Mangatarem, Urbiztondo, Basista, Malasiqui, San Fabian, Pozzorubio, Sison, Laoac, Urdaneta City, Manaoag, San Jacinto, Dagupan City, Mangaldan, Mapandan, Santa Barbara, San Carlos City, Calasiao, Binmaley, Lingayen).
Under TCWS No. 1 are Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, the rest of Pangasinan, Abra, the western portion of Kalinga (Balbalan, Pasil, Lubuagan, Tinglayan), the western portion of Mountain Province (Barlig, Sadanga, Bontoc, Sagada, Sabangan, Bauko, Tadian, Besao), the western portion of Ifugao (Banaue, Hingyon, Kiangan, Tinoc, Hungduan, Asipulo), Benguet, the western portion of Nueva Vizcaya (Ambaguio, Kayapa, Aritao, Santa Fe), the western portion of Nueva Ecija (Carranglan, Lupao, Muñoz City, Santo Domingo, Zaragoza, Aliaga, Licab, Guimba, Talugtug, Quezon, Nampicuan, Cuyapo), Tarlac, and the rest of Zambales.
The storm was forecast to bring moderate to heavy rains over Batanes, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan, La Union, Apayao, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, and Calamian Islands on Wednesday.
Light to moderate with at times heavy rains were expected over Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon.
Pagasa continued to warn of flooding (including flashfloods) and rain-induced landslides during heavy or prolonged rainfall especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards.
The storm was forecast to exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Thursday morning or afternoon, October 22. (VoxPop Philippines)