Thousands flee ‘Chedeng’

Tens of thousands along the country’s eastern coastal provinces on Saturday fled to evacuation centers ahead of the landfall of Tropical Storm “Chedeng,” expected early Sunday, in Isabela province.

As of 4 p.m. Saturday, Chedeng (international name: Maysak) was spotted 340 kilometers southeast of Casiguran in Aurora province, moving west northwest at 20 kilometers per hour with peak winds of 115 kph near the center, gusting up to 145 kph.

Chedeng developed into a supertyphoon in the Pacific early in the week, killing four people and destroying hundreds of homes in Micronesia. The off-season storm lost its punch as it swept toward the Philippines.

The weather bureau downgraded Chedeng into a storm on Saturday. It said winds and rain were expected Saturday night in the eastern provinces before the expected landfall.

The storm comes as the nation celebrates Easter. Many local and foreign tourists were in beach resorts, including popular surfing areas in the north for the Holy Week holidays, when Chedeng headed toward the country.

Nigel Lontoc, assistant director of the Office of Civil Defense, said some 24,000 people in Aurora were being evacuated, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

READ: 24,000 to be evacuated as ‘Chedeng’ closes in on PH

During a meeting of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas urged mayors to be on alert.

“I encourage the mayors to seriously consider undertaking forced evacuation for the safety of our constituents and visitors,” Roxas said.

Assistant Social Welfare Secretary Cheche Cabrera said that in Aurora alone about 10,000 visitors mostly Filipinos were told to leave beach resorts and inns.