Residents wade through knee-deep floodwaters along Maria Clara Street near Araneta Avenue in Quezon City as heavy rains deluge the metro on Saturday, July 19, 2025. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/file
MANILA — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Monday warned against the possible effects of another low-pressure area (LPA) that may develop into a tropical depression within the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).
The new weather disturbance may again impact areas previously hit by Severe Tropical Storm (STS) Crising and the southwest monsoon or habagat.
According to OCD officer-in-charge Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, the areas at risk include the National Capital Region, Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Cordillera Administrative Region Western Visayas and Negros Island Region.
“Habagat o ulan pa rin ang kalaban natin dito. So, we expect continuous or more floodings and landslides sa mga high risk areas, nandiyan pa rin ang banta,” Alejandro told reporters in an interview at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
As of 8 a.m., around 226,000 families or 800,000 individuals have been affected by rains and flooding.
Five people were reported dead, five others injured, while seven more remain missing.
Of the five reported fatalities, three were from Northern Mindanao and one each from Davao and Caraga.
Among the seven missing, three each were reported in Metro Manila and Antique, and one in Palawan.
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The damage to infrastructure and agriculture has reached P219 million and P53 million, respectively.
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A total of 115 cities and municipalities experienced power interruptions, of which electricity has been restored in over 90.
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Although STS Crising has exited the PAR, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) remains on red alert status.
Monitoring continues for rivers, such as the Cagayan River and the Marikina River, as well as dams, such as the Ambuklao Dam and Binga Dam in Benguet, which may cause flooding if they release water.
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The OCD reported that 329 barangays in the said regions are still submerged in floods.
“’Yan nga ang delikado ngayon dahil continuous ang rains since last week at meron pang parating. Talagang yung landslides ay nandiyan pa rin at very active naman ang ating MGB-DENR [Mines and Geosciences Bureau – Department of Environment and Natural Resources] to really identify ang areas na ito,” Alejandro noted.
He continued, “Ang kailangn naming gawin sa OCD at NDRRMC is to intensify our early warning sa LGUs, and hopefully, our LGUs will translate this into action—meaning, magkaroon ng preemptive evacuation and prepositioning ng needed resources na kailangan in the event na magkaroon ng disaster.”
“Ang gusto natin is maiwasan itong casualties, maiwasan ang magkaroon ng mga rescue, kaya nga nagpiprepare tayo para magkaroon tayo ng mga preventive at preemptive activities para mareduce ang aberya,” he further said.
The government has distributed around P50 million worth of aid to affected local government units (LGUs).
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Three million family food packs are also on standby with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Aside from floods and landslides, the OCD is also monitoring Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island, Taal Volcano in Batangas, and Mayon Volcano in Albay for possible lahar flows due to continuous rain.
“So far, wala pa namang nagmove na lahar sa Kanlaon but binibigyan natin ng special attention ang Negros dahil sa activity ng Kanlaon,” Alejandro said.
“Tuluy-tuloy ang pagbibigay ng assistance doon, minomonitor natin iyan. Special itong Kanlaon because we already have existing evacuees. Double whammy ito sa kanila—biktima na sila ng Kanlaon, biktima pa sila ng weather disturbance,” he added.
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