MANILA, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Four people have drowned in heavy rains unleashed by a tropical storm on main Luzon island in the Philippines, a disaster agency said on Thursday.
Atanacio Macalam of the Cagayan provincial disaster risk reduction and management office said a 46-year-old man was swept away by a strong current while trying to cross a river in Gattaran town in Cagayan province on Tuesday.
The second drowning incident in Cagayan province occurred on Wednesday involving a 42-year-old woman on a dugout boat with her husband. She was swept away by the current while gathering firewood at the coastline of Abulug town. The husband was rescued.
The Office of Civil Defense said two girls aged 20 and 21 drowned after they went swimming on a beach resort in Iba, a town in Zambales province. Before swimming, the two girls were seen drink alcohol with two others. They were apparently pulled under water by the undercurrent, local officials said.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said more than 3,000 families from the northern Luzon island were affected by days of heavy rains that flooded streets and knocked down trees in recent days.
In its latest bulletin issued at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, the state weather bureau said the tropical storm is now outside of the Philippines. However, it added that "moderate to at times heavy rains" will be experienced over the Ilocos region, and Zambales and Bataan provinces.
"Residents in these areas, especially those living in areas prone to flooding and landslides, are advised to take precautionary measures," the bureau said. It warns that "sea travel is risky over the seaboards of (the Philippine main island of) Luzon."
Meanwhile, the bureau warned that a "low pressure area" 310 km west northwest of Sinait town in the Ilocos Sur province may develop into a tropical depression within 36 hours.
