Eastern Visayas: Several road sections in Eastern Visayas were closed to traffic on Monday due to landslides and flooding after the shear line dumped heavy rains across the region for the second day. Totally closed was the Arteche-Jipapad-Las Navas-Rawis Road linking Eastern and Northern Samar provinces following a landslide in Barangay 4, Jipapad, Eastern Samar. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Eastern Samar field office reported that some 80 cubic meters of debris blocked both lanes.
According to Philippines News Agency, equipment and maintenance crew have been deployed to the site to conduct clearing operations. Motorists are advised to take caution while traveling during the rainy season, particularly when passing along national roads with ongoing construction projects, the DPWH said in its advisory. In Leyte, a road in Barangay Liberty, Mayorga town was not passable as of Monday noon due to flooding. The flooded section is within the nautical highway that links Luzon to Mindanao. Motorists took the longer alternate route, passing the towns of Mayorga, La Paz, and Javier.
Also in Leyte, the flooded road in San Isidro, Sta. Fe prevented motorcycles from passing. The road is within the alternative highway that links this city to Sta. Fe. Likewise accessible only to heavy vehicles as of Monday noon was Catarman-Laoang Road due to overflow of rivers in Bugko and Chitongco villages in Mondragon, Northern Samar. Meanwhile, the Leyte police provincial office confirmed that some houses were buried by a landslide in upland Bocawon village in La Paz, Leyte. A family of eight survived.
Several local government units in Eastern Visayas suspended classes in all levels and work in the government on Monday due to the effects of the shear line. Widespread flooding, meanwhile, submerged all 13 villages of Jipapad, Eastern Samar, the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office (MDRRMO) reported. ‘At least 2,817 families have been affected by flooding since Sunday night, including two families now staying in an evacuation center,’ Jipapad MDRRMO chief Vicky Abestros said in a phone interview. Power interruptions were reported since Monday morning.
Other flood-hit towns in Eastern Samar were Maslog, Arteche, Dolores, Can-avid, and Balangkayan. The Department of Education – Eastern Samar division reported suspension of classes in the towns of General Macarthur, Giporlos, Quinapondan, Salcedo, Lawaan, San Julian, Hernani, Balangkayan, Guiuan, San Policarpo, Taft, Dolores, Mercedes, Can-avid, Oras, Arteche, Salcedo, Maydolong, Maslog, Llorente, Jipapad, Balangiga, and Sulat.