4,000 families evacuated in 3 Bicol provinces due to Typhoon Ruby

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines– Disaster response units from the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police said the number of evacuees in Masbate, Sorsogon and Catanduanes rose to nearly 4,000 families Saturday afternoon as Typhoon Ruby (international name: Hagupit) came closer to Southern Luzon and Eastern Visayas.

Lt. Clint Antipala, spokesman of the Army’s 903rd Infantry Brigade based in Castilla, Sorsogon, said as of noon Saturday they had evacuated a total of 3,732 families in the three provinces. The evacuation effort started Thursday afternoon.

Antipala said they have no precise figure for the number of individuals evacuated, but disaster and welfare officials use five as the average number of persons in a family. That would place the number of individuals evacuated in the three provinces at over 18,600.

The three provinces, now under storm signal No. 3, are directly on the path of the typhoon, according to the state weather bureau.

Antipala said the most evacuees were in Masbate, with 2,257 families, while Sorsogon had 1,224 families.

In Catanduanes, 251 families were evacuated, said Lt. Gilbert Dumugho, operations officer of the 83rd Infantry Battalion.

Majority of the evacuees were from coastal areas at risk of storm surges, flashfloods and landslides.

 
Police Officer 3 Zandro Cabintoy, spokesman of Masbate Provincial Police Office, said they have begun evacuating residents in all towns in Masbate, including those in Burias and Ticao Islands, since Thursday afternoon.

Cabintoy said residents of Masbate got worried after learning from television and newspaper reports that the province has been included among the areas where storm surges could occur. It was the first time for residents to hear of a storm surge alert in Masbate, he added.

Pagasa’s Project Noah (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) reported Friday night that nine areas in Masbate were in danger of storm surges ranging from 2 to 4 meters. These were the towns of Cawayan, Uson, Mobo, Placer, Dimasalang, Batuan, Milagros, Esperanza
and Palanas.

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