5 dead, 1 missing as 'Karen' whips North Luzon - OCD

MANILA, Philippines - Five people, three of them children, had been killed when typhoon “Karen” whipped northern Luzon late Tuesday until early Wednesday, according to relief and disaster response officials.

Three of the fatalities were identified as Mark Anthony Somera, 1; Lester Somera, 3; and Alvin Somera, 10.

Office of Civil Defense-Cordillera Administrative Region (OCD-CAR) said the three died when their house in Ucab village in Itogon, Benguet, got buried in a mudslide.

Also killed due to landslides were Petra Dadatar, 72, from Baguio City, and Hilario Badungan, 77, from La Union province.

In Ilocos Norte, 50-year-old Dionisio Tumamao of San Nicolas town was reported missing after he was swept by floodwaters while crossing the Padsan river.

About 1,344 families or 4,195 peopel had been affected by the typhoon in Ilocos region alone.

In Benguet, Marcos highway had been closed to traffic due to boulder slides.

In Metro Manila, the military’s National Capital Region Command under Maj. Gen. Arsenio Arugar dispatched military trucks to assist motorists who had been stranded due to flooding in some thoroughfares.

NCRcom spokesman Capt. Carlo Ferrer said Arugay activated the Disaster Response Task Group-NCR “to provide rescue, free rides and traffic assistance due to flash floods brought about by Typhoon “Karen” that have flooded communities and stranded commuters within NCR.

Ferrer said the trucks provided free transport in the cities of Quezon, Pasig, Mandaluyong and Pasay and in Malabon, among others. - GMANews.TV