WINDY Children in Albay province play along Legazpi City Boulevard amid strong winds accompanying Tropical Storm “Urduja.” —MARK ALVIC ESPLANA
Local governments in Eastern Visayas and the Bicol regions stepped up disaster response preparations and declared class suspensions to ensure the safety of local communities as Tropical Storm “Urduja” (international name: Kai-Tak) intensified and moved toward these areas.
The weather bureau on Thursday hoisted warning signals over several provinces in Luzon and the Visayas with Urduja expected to make landfall today.
According to forecasters of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), the Samar provinces are under threat, with Urduja expected to make landfall over Eastern Samar.
In its weather bulletin released at 5 p.m. Thursday, Pagasa said the center of the storm was 85 kilometers east-southeast of Guiuan town in Eastern Samar, with maximum winds of 65 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 90 kph, moving west at 7 kph.
Pagasa raised tropical cyclone warning signal No. 2 over Eastern Samar, Samar and Biliran provinces. The weather bureau also warned of possible storm surges in coastal areas with waves as tall as 4.1 meters to 14 m in the open sea.
Tropical cyclone warning signal No. 1 was hoisted over the provinces of Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate, Romblon, Northern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, northern Cebu (including Bantayan Island), Capiz, Aklan and northern Iloilo.
Pagasa said moderate to heavy rainfall was expected within the 400-km diameter of Urduja.
Flooding in Samar, Boracay
Scattered to widespread rains is also to be expected over the Visayas as well as the Bicol, Caraga and Northern Mindanao regions. Residents here were alerted to possible flash floods and landslides.
In Eastern Samar, heavy rains flooded at least 21 villages in the towns of Salcedo, Arteche, Guiuan, Llorente, Quinapondan and Maydolong, said Levi Nicart of the Eastern Samar Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
Landslides were also reported in the village of Paya in Giporlos town and the village of Libas in San Julian town, Nicart said.
In Aklan province, residents of Boracay Island have expressed outrage and frustration over flooding on the island’s main road.
The flooding, worsened by heavy rains in recent days, had inconvenienced residents and tourists, especially those going to Sitio Diniwid in Barangay Balabag at the northern end of the 1,032-hectare island.
Stranded in Bicol
As of Thursday afternoon, the Philippine Coast Guard in Bicol said some 3,000 passengers were stranded in different ports in the region.
The Coast Guard implemented a “no sailing policy” for passenger and fishing boats and other seacraft after Pagasa raised a gale warning over the eastern seaboard of Bicol.
Heavy rains dumped by Urduja caused flooding and raised water levels in rivers in Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur provinces.
Classes in Sorsogon province were suspended until Saturday to prepare for the impact of Urduja, said Joseph John Perez, Department of Education provincial information officer.
In Albay, Gov. Al Francis Bichara said the suspension of classes that started on Wednesday would continue until today.
No evacuation of residents was noted in Albay on Thursday. —REPORTS FROM JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE, NESTOR P. BURGOS JR., JOEY A. GABIETA, MA. APRIL MIER, REY ANTHONY OSTRIA, MICHAEL JAUCIAN, STEPHANIE FLORIDA AND MAR ARGUELLES