Visayas ramps up preparations for ‘Odette’

CEBU CITY — Local governments in the Visayas have stepped up preparations for Severe Tropical Storm Odette (international name: Rai) which is expected to strengthen into a typhoon on Wednesday.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama was preparing to evacuate residents living along the rivers due to the threat of floods as well as those living near landslide-prone areas.

The Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office was monitoring 100 areas prone to flooding in 38 barangays and 50 sites in 11 other barangays in the mountains for possible landslides. The city government has partnered with the Department of Education to allow the use of classrooms as evacuation centers.

Aside from schools, also being prepared as evacuation sites are barangay gymnasiums and churches.

Several vessels have also started to seek shelter in the waters off Barangay Tayud, Consolacion town, Cebu.

Among these were vessels of Alexander Cohon, president of the Lapu-Lapu Shipping Lines Corporation.

“We need to protect our ships from the storm,” he said.

Cohon, who owns three ships, highlighted the importance of the shipyards in Consolacion town which are facing eviction following the move of the local government to reclaim the area.

“Whenever there are typhoons, we always have in mind to take shelter in the shipyards of Consolacion. They (local government of Consolacion) said we could find other places but for me, the best place where we can take shelter is in Consolacion,” he said.

In Bohol, public and private offices will suspend work on Thursday and Friday in anticipation of Odette.

“From our partner agencies from the national government and the provincial government, if you have activities on Thursday and Friday, please make the necessary cancellation and postponement,” said Anthony Damalerio, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer.

Leonard Samar of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) Radar Station in Albuquerque in Bohol, said Odette was expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Tuesday night.

Odette was expected to pass Bohol on Thursday afternoon or evening.

All provinces in Western and Eastern Visayas have been placed on high alert in anticipation of Odette and advised to activate needed protocols.

The National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center has issued an advisory resetting the scheduled COVID-19 national vaccination days on December 15-17, 2021 to Dec. 20 to 22 in several areas including the three Visayas regions.

In Guiuan, Eastern Samar, officials will implement forced evacuation to families living in coastal areas on December 15.

Many fishermen in the town also brought their boats to safer grounds after the Philippine Coast Guard issued a “no sailing policy,” especially for small seacraft.

In Salcedo town, also in Eastern Samar, about 60 families or 420 individuals from the villages of Palanas and Victory were evacuated. — reports from Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Joey Gabieta, Leo Udtohan, and Nestle Semilla, and Ador Vincent Mayol, Inquirer Visayas