INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
GUINOBATAN, Albay — The province of Albay was placed under a state of calamity on Saturday hours after Severe Tropical Storm Paeng (international name: Nalgae) dumped heavy rains in the Bicol Region, causing close to 80,000 residents in its six provinces to flee to safer grounds.
The state of calamity declaration was made during a special session by the provincial board and upon the request of Albay Governor Noel Rosal, also on Saturday.
READ: Paeng may make landfall in either CamSur, Albay, or Catanduanes — Pagasa
Board Member Dante Arandia, who authored Resolution No. 0169-2022, said the calamity declaration would allow the provincial government to effectively implement appropriation of calamity funds, to freeze the prices of basic goods, and grant no-interest loans to affected residents in the province.
The provincial disaster risk reduction and management office and other provincial offices were still collating the damage reports from the towns and cities in the province but Paeng, which made its first landfall in the Bicol island-province of Catanduanes pre-dawn on Saturday, had prompted the pre-emptive evacuation of 21,470 residents or 5,214 families in Albay on Friday.
Shortly before noon on Saturday, Rosal ordered that the evacuees be brought home after the weather improved and as the tropical storm continued its west-nortwest trajectory.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has downgraded the status of Albay and neighboring Sorsogon province to Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal Number 1 as of 5 p.m. on Saturday.