Romblon orders evacuation of residents in 6 towns

SAN PEDRO, Laguna, Philippines — The provincial government of Romblon on Thursday afternoon enforced a preemptive evacuation in at least six coastal and low-lying municipalities as the island-province braced for supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’.

Romblon Governor Eduardo Firmalo said between 2,000 and 3,000 residents in the towns of Alcantara, Sta. Fe, Cajidiocan, Odiongan, Ferol, and Looc, have started evacuating to safe ground.

He said the residents were living in areas identified as prone to flooding and storm surges.

Eugene Cabrera, chief of disaster mitigation for Mimaropa (Mindoro Oriental and Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), said the region’s provinces, except for Palawan, were placed under typhoon signal 1, prompting the cancellation of boat trips in and out of these provinces and the suspension of classes in all levels.

The regional health office, he said, has also distributed to all provinces medicines for fever, cough, and other illnesses most common during a typhoon worth P360,923.25.

Yolanda, packing maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 250 kph, as it moved west-northwest at 30 kph, was projected to make landfall over Guiuan, Eastern Samar between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Friday, the weather bureau said.