‘Fabian’ dumps rain; flood, traffic in MM

Typhoon “Fabian” maintained its strength while continuously moving westward on Wednesday afternoon.

Its center was located at 655 kilometers northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, packing maximum sustained winds of 150 kms per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph.

“Fabian” was moving westward at 10 kph and was not expected to make landfall.

The typhoon, however, has enhanced the southwest monsoon that triggered heavy rains in Metro Manila and even caused floods in many of its areas.

In Metro Manila, the heavy downpour brought floods and caused traffic jams on major thoroughfares.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) declared three areas—Taft Avenue, United Nations Avenue, and Maria Orosa Street, all in Manila—impassable to light vehicles due to knee-deep floodwaters as of 9 a.m.

Gutter-deep floods also caused vehicles to slow down in the areas of Andres Bonifacio - Sgt Rivera, Aurora - Araneta, both lanes of E. Rodriguez, Roxas Boulevard, Espana Street, Rizal Avenue, Kalaw Avenue, Bonifacio Drive, and portions of EDSA and C5.

MMDA chairman Benjamin Abalos Jr. said his agency is studying the Metro Manila terrain and is planning to add pumping stations in line with its initiative to mitigate flooding in the metropolis.

He also urged mayors in the National Capital Region to come up with a resolution penalizing those who indiscriminately dump their waste and include community service as a sanction for violators.

“Regardless of how much and how frequently we pump flood water, if the public is still throwing their garbage anywhere, the problem won’t be addressed. This is why we need to strictly enforce sanctions for violators and involve them in cleaning our waterways,” Abalos said.

The MMDA chief said the agency continues to engage in dredging, desilting, and clearing of waterways and said all the 67 pumping stations in Metro Manila are operational.

Abalos on Wednesday led the inauguration of the Aglipay Bridge and Pumping Station in Mandaluyong City to address the flooding problem in low lying nearby communities.

The water which will be pumped from the area will go to San Juan River while trash nets will be installed in place to haul garbage from the area to ensure that trash won’t damage the pumps.

The southwest monsoon (habagat) will continue to drench many areas in Luzon, the weather bureau said Wednesday.

The monsoon is still being enhanced by Typhoon Fabian and the weather disturbance outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility with the international name “Cempaka”, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said in its 5 a.m. weather bulletin.

Metro Manila, the Ilocos and Cordillera regions, Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Cavite, Batangas, Occidental Mindoro, and northern Palawan, including the Calamian Islands, will continue to experience monsoon rains.

Rough to very rough seas will be experienced over the seaboards of Batanes and the Babuyan Islands, and the western seaboard of Palawan (including the Kalayaan and Calamian Islands) and Occidental Mindoro (including Lubang Islands).

Moderate to rough seas will also prevail over the eastern and the rest of the northern and western seaboards of Luzon.

PAGASA said sea travel is risky for small seacraft, while mariners without the proper experience should immediately seek safe harbor.

Meanwhile, scattered rain showers and thunderstorms will prevail over Western Visayas and the rest of Luzon. Flash floods or landslides are possible during moderate to at times heavy rains.

The rest of the country will have rain showers or thunderstorms.

Light to moderate winds and slight to moderate seas are forecast over Mindanao, PAGASA said.