CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Central Luzon braced to the hilt, but typhoon Glenda turned out to be less than feared.
Still, the number of fatalities rose as reports came in yesterday from various provinces in the region. Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado lauded the preparations of various government agencies in Central Luzon in the face of the typhoon, but noted that Glenda was not as fearful as other recent typhoons that had caused severe damages in the region.
Alvarado recently assumed his post as chairman of Central Luzon’s Regional Development Council. The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the Philippine Information Agency ((PIA) identified the fatalities as Reynaldo Meneses, 49 of Sto. Nino in Plaridel, Bulacan and Mario Paulo, 62, of Burgos in San Antonio, Zambales who were both pinned to death by fallen trees; Virgilio Sanchez, 53, of San Juan in Apalit, Pampanga who was blown off while repairing his house’s roof, and; Crissanto Alarcon, 22, of Palalihan in Orani, Bataan who drowned.
PIA Regional Director William Beltran said another was reported to have died in Zambales at the height of Glenda’s strong winds, but noted the victim suffered from a heart attack. His identity was not immediately disclosed. The OCD and PIA reports also noted eight typhoon-related injuries, including one who was electrocuted in Limay, Bataan and seven who sustained lacerations in San Antonio, San Narciso, Subic, and Cabangan in Zambales.
At the Clark International Airport in Pampanga, two flights of Cebu Pacific for Hong Kong and Singapore were cancelled, while the arrival of a Qatar flight from Doha was delayed as Glenda’s winds battered Clark Freeport.
Operations normalized in the afternoon of the same day as weather improved. The reports also said that about 2,500 families were evacuated, mostly in Bataan and Zambales. The typhoon’s rains, however, was not enough to prompt authorities to open the gates of dams, including the Angat, Ipo and Bustos dams in Bulacan and Pantabangan dam in Nueva Ecija, as their water volumes remained below spilling level.
