Threat of storm surge can’t dampen town’s festive mood

By: Mark Alvic Esplana - 10 years ago

FILE PHOTO

SORSOGON, Philippines -— It was the eve of the town fiesta in Magallanes, a coastal town, on Tuesday and the townsfolk, mostly fishermen, were reluctant to leave their homes despite the threats of a storm surge brought by typhoon Glenda (Rammasun) that was expected to make a landfall in Sorsogon province in the afternoon.

The residents, some of them also employed in municipal government offices and others with family members working as overseas Filipino workers, were still busy cooking native delicacies in their homes, unmindful of the massive downpour that has drenched the town since the afternoon of Tuesday.

Heavy rains forced the cancellation of the town’s parade but the townsfolk were still in a festive mood.

“Magallanes is a possible ‘hot spot’ for storm surge even as the entire Sorsogon province is under close watch,” said Seaman First Class Aries Buenaagua of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in Bicol.

This correspondent went to one of the town’s coastal villages and observed strong waves, about 10-foot high, hitting the breakwater. The sea water was inching close to residential homes, a mix of nipa shingles and concrete structures owned by fishermen and boat operators, municipal government employees and families of overseas Filipino workers.

Ruben Conda, action officer of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (MDRRMC), said they were having a hard time convincing residents to evacuate to safer ground.

“The residents were insisting that they were safe in their homes. But for those who left their homes, evacuation started at 1 p.m.,” he said.

As heavy rains and strong winds battered the town on Tuesday afternoon, the MDRRMC teams were divided between evacuating those residents in the coastal area and those in landslide-prone areas, said Conda.