There is a quiet moment in the sky before a storm makes itself known — a stillness that fills the lungs and seems to whisper of both promise and peril. In the Philippines, that quiet was disrupted this week as Tropical Storm Penha, locally known as Basyang, swept across the southern islands, turning rainy calm into rushing waters and shifting earth. What began as distant bands of cloud soon became a vivid reminder of how nature’s moods can change in an instant, touching lives in ways both tragic and profound.
Penha made landfall over Bayabas, Surigao del Sur, before weakening into a tropical depression, but not before its torrential rains unleashed floods and triggered a deadly landslide in a quarry area on Thursday night. In Cagayan de Oro City, a family of four — parents and their two children — lost their lives when soil and debris overwhelmed their home. In separate flooding incidents across Iligan City and Agusan del Norte, four more people drowned as waters rose with astonishing speed.
Officials said the storm’s heavy rains washed over riverbanks and fields, submerging villages and leaving many homes surrounded by water. One resident of Iligan pleaded over the radio from her second‑floor balcony, surrounded by rising floodwaters, waiting for rescuers to reach her and three other families marooned by the deluge. In the storm’s wake, more than 28,000 people were displaced across southern and central provinces as emergency shelters filled with families seeking safety from the battered landscape.
The reach of Penha extended beyond flooded homes. Transportation was disrupted nationwide as more than 7,400 passengers and cargo workers were stranded at seaports after the Philippine Coast Guard temporarily halted travel across rough seas. Schools were closed and community centers transformed into refuge points while disaster‑response teams worked against the ebb and flow of rain and wind to support those affected.
In Iligan City, floodwaters reached waist‑deep in some neighborhoods, sweeping away vehicles and stranding families, while rescue operations carried neighbors to higher ground. Officials continue to monitor weather conditions as Penha moves northwestward, weakening but still reminding communities of the fragile balance between daily life and the forces that shape it.
Though the Filipino archipelago regularly faces storms — with about 20 tropical cyclones on average each year — Penha’s early‑season arrival and its aftermath of floods and landslides bring a renewed call to focus on preparedness, resilience, and the enduring spirit of communities facing nature’s unpredictable rhythms.
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📰 Sources Associated Press (via PBS NewsHour) Philstar.com Shelton Herald (AP report)