BORONGAN CITY, Eastern Samar—Government security forces were sent to the northern part of this province Saturday in a last-minute effort to evacuate all residents of seaside villages as Typhoon “Ruby” (international name: Hagupit) changed course and headed toward Dolores town, a coastal municipality about 60 kilometers north of this provincial capital.
“This is our last push. Every person we evacuate is one person less who may become victim of Ruby,” Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II said in a meeting of the local disaster risk reduction and management council.
“Let’s not waste our time. Take care and stay safe,” he told the policemen and soldiers tasked to implement the mandatory evacuation in the 22 towns and one city of the province.
Citing the latest information from the state weather bureau, Roxas said Ruby was expected to make its first landfall in Dolores at 8 p.m. Saturday, or about six hours earlier than the previous forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
He said the 18th weather disturbance to hit the country this year was moving northward with sustained winds of up to 195 kilometers per hour.
He said the typhoon’s movement was erratic as it went stationary for about six hours before moving toward Eastern Samar.
As of 3 p.m., the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said a total of 43,132 families composed of 199,755 individuals were staying in evacuation centers in the province.
Levi Nicart, PDRRMC chief, said all residents of coastal villages and flood-prone areas in Eastern Samar had already been moved to safer ground.
During the meeting, Senior Supt. Alan Cuevillas, Eastern Samar police chief, disclosed that nearly 9,000 individuals still needed to be evacuated from seaside villages in Dolores.
This prompted Roxas to momentarily suspend the meeting to allow officials of the Philippine National Police and the Army to contact their personnel in Dolores and nearby municipalities.
“We still have two hours of daylight to move. We have to make sure the people who should be evacuated will be evacuated,” he said.
Power went out at around 9 a.m. as heavy rains and howling winds started to pound the city.
Walls of seawater as high as five meters were also reported in coastal villages facing the Pacific Ocean.
Roxas, however, said he had yet to receive confirmed reports of storm surges whipped up by Ruby.
Accompanied by Palace spokesperson Edwin Lacierda and other local officials, the interior secretary went around Borongan and the nearby San Julian town to check on the situation in evacuation centers.
He met with Borongan Bishop Crispin Varquez and residents seeking shelter in the Borongan Cathedral.
“We’re all here. We will not leave you,” Roxas assured Varquez.
In San Julian town, Roxas noticed a number of people who were still in their houses along the seashore.
Mayor Exequiel Fritz Aseo of San Julian said some of the residents had sought his permission to return to their homes to cook some food.
“They were actually taken to the evacuation centers. They just went back because they did not bring their kitchen utensils with them,” Aseo told the Inquirer.
Speaking with reporters, Roxas expressed confidence that the government agencies tasked to respond to disasters were more prepared to face Ruby’s challenges.
He said even the people had become more cautious and were now more cooperative with local authorities after seeing the effects of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) and other powerful typhoons.
“We have seen the deadly effects of negligence and the lack of preparation. But now you can see that the people are more concerned about the preparations,” he said. “For one, we noticed that people now have satellite phones. The people living in the danger zones readily agreed to be evacuated.”
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