An initial 217 families or 706 individuals are staying in evacuation centers in Roxas City, Capiz after a preemptive evacuation was conducted Tuesday night in preparation for Typhoon Odette.
“They are staying in coastal barangays of Roxas City and they have threats of huge waves. There is a possibility that their houses will be damaged and their lives will be at risk so they were pre-emptively evacuated,” Office of Civil Defense (OCD) information officer Cindy Ferrer said in an interview Wednesday.
The families came from villages of Baybay, Barra, Dumolog, Cogon, Libas, Punta Cogon, Olotayan, Bago, Culasi and Lawaan.
The residents were evacuated before the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) raised the number of barangays prone to flooding and landslide from 1,111 to 3, 766 based on its latest assessment on its latest advisory.
These include Iloilo with 1,828; Negros Occidental, 613; Antique, 515; Capiz, 445; Aklan, 273; and Guimaras has 92.
With the MGB update, Ferrer said more local government units (LGUs) are expected to conduct preemptive evacuations, especially that Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1 has been hoisted over Western Visayas by the weather bureau as of 11 a.m.
The OCD is expecting LGUs in the southern part of Negros Occidental and Guimaras, where the tropical storm is expected to pass, to also do preemptive evacuations.
The Guimaras Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PRDDMO) has signified its plan to evacuate residents of the island of Onisan in the town of Nueva Valencia.
“They had a meeting this morning at the Cabalagnan Elementary School, their dedicated evacuation center. They are now preparing for the pre-emptive evacuation but we don’t have the number yet,” Ferrer added.
Meantime, apart from the pre-emptive evacuation, several trips have been canceled, she said.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Iloilo station in its advisory Wednesday announced that trips from Iloilo City going to Cebu City, Bacolod City, Palawan, Manila, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro and vice versa are already suspended.
Also, trips from Estancia to Tabuelan, Cebu via Sagay City and to Gigantes Island and Sicogon Island Carles and vice versa are prohibited.
Sea trips from Dumangas to Bacolod City and vice versa; and Carles to Gigantes and Sicogon Islands and vice versa are no longer allowed.
They will only be allowed to sail to take shelter if the situation warrants, said the PCG advisory.
Fishing vessels are also advised not to go out into the sea. (PNA)
