Tropical Storm Trami tracks toward Philippines, schools shut

MANILA: The Philippines suspended government work and shut schools as Tropical Storm Trami barrelled toward the country’s eastern coast, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday ordering responders to prepare ahead of its landfall.
State weather forecaster Pag-asa said in its 11 a.m. (0300 GMT) bulletin Trami’s center was last estimated at 200 km (124 miles) off the eastern town of Casiguran in Aurora province. The storm is forecast to make landfall between Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning.
Marcos ordered government agencies to closely monitor the volume of rainfall in the coming days, preposition government resources and anticipate people’s needs.
“The worst is yet to come, I’m afraid. Let’s all prepare,” Marcos told a situation briefing.
“The volumes of water are unprecedented. We should closely monitor that.”
Ahead of the storm’s landfall, Trami dumped heavy rain in the central region of Bicol on Tuesday, forcing residents to flee their homes as floodwaters reached as high as the roofs of bungalow houses. Rivers overflowed and triggered flash floods, a disaster official said.
“We got almost two months’ worth of rainfall in just 24 hours,” Albay provincial disaster chief Cedric Daep said by phone.
The civil defense office said at least one person was reported dead in Palanas town in Masbate province after being hit by a falling branch. Five others were injured and seven were reported missing.
Pag-asa warned of strong winds, heavy rain and storm surges in coastal towns within the typhoon’s path.
The storm, which was packing winds of 85 kph (53 mph), also shut down government work and schools across the main island of Luzon.
The Philippine central bank on Wednesday suspended currency trading and monetary operations for the day. Stock market trading operated as normal.
Agencies involved in disaster response and vital services remained open, the office of the president said.