Albay starts massive evacuation as ‘Nona’ nears

LEGAZPI CITY — With Albay province now in the direct path of Typhoon Nona (international name: Malor) and placed under Storm Signal Number 3, local authorities began on Sunday night the massive evacuation of at least a hundred thousand persons to safer areas.

Cedric Daep, head of Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (Apsemo), said that before 8 a.m. Monday, they are targeting to complete the evacuation of 133,901 persons from coastal, flood prone and lahar threatened areas of Albay.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda ordered the evacuation past 8 p.m. after the Pagasa announced that Nona would make landfall in Albay sometime between 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday.

Salceda said the province has been placed under a “State of Imminent Danger” as defined under rules set by the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) ” to enable our component towns and cities, barangays, national government entities and uniformed services to use reserve funds for emergency response to the threats and hazards posed by Typhoon Nona particularly with the sudden escalation of warning by Pagasa to Signal 3 for Albay.

According to Salceda, the typhoon would virtually cut across the entire swathe of landmass of Albay when it makes landfall in the province on Monday morning, packing winds of up to 170 kilometers per hour.

So far, at least 700 families from lahar prone areas were evacuated in two villages of Guinobatan town.

Guinobatan Mayor Gemma Ongjoco said evacuees from the villages of Maninila and Tandarora were evacuated to the Guinobatan East Elementary School and Lower Binogsacan Elementary School, respectively.

By Monday morning, Ongjoco said they are targeting to complete the evacuation of more or less 5,000 families.

Daep said that as of 9 p.m., the  local government units of Polangui and Camalig towns have also started evacuation of residents in threatened areas.