Tsunami alert prompts Cagayan Valley authorities to seek class cancellations

FILE PHOTO Palaui Island off the town of Santa Ana, Cagayan province (Picture from DENR – CAGAYAN VALLEY)

MANILA, Philippines — The Cagayan Valley Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CVDRRMC) has recommended the cancellation of classes in the coastal towns of Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) following the state seismologist’s tsunami warning in some parts of Northern Luzon.

The warning came after a magnitude-7.5 earthquake that struck near Taiwan on Wednesday morning.

READ: Tsunami alert up in parts of PH after magnitude 7.5 quake hit near Taiwan

“Sa Emergency Operations Meeting ng CVDRRMC-Office of Civil Defense, kanilang inirekomenda ang kanselasyon, subalit ito ay nakadepende sa pag-apruba ng Local Chief Executives (LCE’s) sa mga munisipalidad dahil sila ang may otoridad sa pagdedeklara ng suspensyon,” the Cagayan Provincial Information Office said in a Facebook post.

(In the Emergency Operations Meeting of the CVDRRMC-Office of Civil Defense, they recommended cancellation, but it is dependent on the approval of the Local Chief Executives (LCE’s) in the municipalities because they have the authority to declare suspension.)

It also noted that the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Office in Cagayan Valley is on alert and conducting a preemptive evacuation of residents of coastal areas.

READ: Magnitude 7.5 earthquake hits near Taiwan, reports Japan agency

The Philippine Coast Guard-Claveria Sub-Station, on the other hand, has temporarily suspended the issuance of permission to travel on any kind of sea vessel.

Meanwhile, the Calayan Municipal Information Office has already announced a suspension of classes in Barangays Dibay, Dilam, Minabel, Morol, and Babuyan Claro.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) earlier raised a tsunami warning in the Batanes Group of Islands, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte and Isabela, prompting residents to immediately evacuate to higher ground.

It also advised owners of boats in harbors, estuaries or shallow coastal waters to secure their boats and move away from the waterfront.