Evacuation advised as another storm threatens Bicol

WASH AND BATHE Days after Typhoon “Rolly” battered Catanduanes province, residents of the capital Virac troop to Hicming River to wash their mud-soaked clothes and other belongings, and to take a bath as water supply in the town has yet to be fully restored. —MARK ALVIC ESPLANA

Just over a week after Typhoon Rolly (international name: Goni) pummeled Bicol, another potential typhoon threatens to hit the region anew this week.

On Monday, Tropical Depression Ulysses strengthened to a tropical storm but was forecast to intensify into a typhoon before making landfall over Bicol or Quezon province on Wednesday, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

Ulysses is the 21st weather disturbance this year in the country, which faces an average of 20 tropical cyclones annually.

Pagasa said Ulysses’ trough, or extension, would bring cloudy skies with scattered rain and thunderstorms by Tuesday over Bicol, Quezon and Eastern Visayas where storm signals could be raised.

Residents in these areas were advised to stay vigilant for possible flash floods or landslides due to moderate to at times heavy rains, Pagasa said.

As of 3 p.m. on Monday, Ulysses was estimated at 575 kilometers east of Borongan City, Eastern Samar. It was moving northward at 15 km per hour, packing winds of 65 kph and gusts of 80 kph.

On Tuesday afternoon, the storm is expected to turn westward and head toward the Bicol-Quezon area by midweek.Its latest forecast track showed Ulysses crossing the southern Luzon, similar to the paths of previous storms “Quinta” (Molave) and Rolly, which devastated parts of southern Luzon and Bicol in the past two weeks. It is expected to exit the country by Saturday.

Officials in Catanduanes province were again asked to look for available space that could serve as evacuation centers.

“All evacuation centers were destroyed. The strategy would be ‘sheltering’ wherein evacuees would stay in houses that are still safe,” said Roberto Monterola, disaster risk reduction and management officer of Catanduanes.

In Isabela province, Magat Dam released water through a spillway gate on Monday afternoon due to incessant rains

—Reports from Jhesset O. Enano, Ma. April Mier-Manjares and Villamor Visayas Jr.