Evacuation plans set in Visayas, Mindanao due to Tropical Storm Odette
Local governments in the Visayas and Mindanao have stepped up preparations for Severe Tropical Storm Odette (international name: Rai), which is expected to strengthen into a typhoon on Wednesday.
In 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 villages 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.
In Bohol province, 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.
Disaster response
Leonard Samar of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) radar station in Albuquerque town, said Odette, which was expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility on Tuesday night, would cross Bohol on Thursday afternoon.
All provinces in Western and Eastern Visayas have been placed on high alert in anticipation of Odette and advised to activate needed protocols.
In Guiuan, Eastern Samar, officials will implement forced evacuation of families along coastal areas on Dec. 15.
Many fishermen in the town also took 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 people, from the villages of Palanas and Victory were evacuated.
In Mindanao, families from four riverside villages of Gingoog City were evacuated from their homes on Tuesday due to a flood spawned by heavy rains starting on Monday night.
The displaced families were staying in barangay halls, according to the city information office. In some areas, the water level was waist-deep.
Also on Tuesday, Gingoog Mayor Erick Cañosa suspended classes in all levels in private and public schools due to the bad weather.
In Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental province, power was cut off on Tuesday morning amid heavy rains and strong winds.
Record rainfall
Disaster response agencies in Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions have heightened preparations for Odette, which calls to mind the onslaught of Tropical Storm “Sendong” (Washi) 10 years ago, also in December.
The projected path of Odette slightly resembles that of Sendong’s, which first made landfall in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, on Dec. 16, 2011.
By midnight, the storm poured an unusually high volume of rain on Iligan and Cagayan de Oro cities, the localities most devastated by its fury.
As a result, Sendong triggered flash floods in both cities. At least 30 urban villages of Cagayan de Oro and 14 in Iligan were submerged.
In all, 1,495 drowned in floodwaters throughout Northern Mindanao, mostly in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
In Surigao del Norte, the Coast Guard has suspended the voyage of ships as a precaution.
The Office of Civil Defense in the Caraga region has prepositioned goods to the province of Dinagat Islands and to Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte in preparation for the onslaught of Odette.
In Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, the town’s tourism office urged mountain climbers and trekkers to consider putting on hold their Mt. Apo climbs until the weather improves.
