Over 600 families in Quezon evacuated due to ‘Quinta’

LUCENA CITY – An estimated 610 families were pre-emptively evacuated in Quezon province as Typhoon Quinta (international name: Molave) continues to threaten residents living in disaster-prone areas Sunday night.

Ma. Janet Geneblazo, Quezon public information officer, in an online interview said evacuees were temporarily sheltered in at least 32 evacuation centers, mostly school buildings, in the towns of Pitogo, San Andres and General Luna in the province 3rd district; the municipalities of Guinayangan, Lopez, Tagkawayan and Alabat island town in the 4th district; and Real town in the northern part of the province.

She said the refugees were being attended to by local social workers and health authorities to ensure that health and safety protocols were being followed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Since Sunday morning, local disaster management offices in different municipalities in the province have been conducting pre-emptive evacuations of residents living in areas prone to storm surge, landslides, and floods.

Earlier, Quezon Governor Danilo Suarez raised the alert status of the provincial disaster management operation center to “Code Red.”

Under the Code Red alert status, the monitoring and operation alert teams are required to be on duty 24/7 to respond to emergencies and possible deployment of assets and resources, once the weather disturbance worsens.

The Code Red alert was raised in anticipation of imminent emergency situations that would require an urgent response.

Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2 is hoisted over the central and southern portions of Quezon while the rest of the province is placed under TCWS No. 1.

/MUF