Samar provinces gear up for ‘Chedeng’

Tacloban City —The disaster councils in the provinces of Eastern Samar and Northern Samar were activated Monday to prepare for the possible effects of Tropical Storm “Chedeng,” according to the Office of Civil Defense in Eastern Visayas.

Cherlyn Lubang of the OCD Region 8 yesterday said that the Northern Samar provincial risk disaster management council also placed rescue teams on a standby especially in areas identified as prone to landslide and flooding.

Evacuation centers have also been identified such as public schools and barangay halls, Lubang said.

On Monday afternoon, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services placed the two Samar provinces under Signal No. 1.

But as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, the two Samar provinces continued to enjoy sunny weather, Lubang said.

The seaport in Allen town, Northern Samar also remained operational as of yesterday morning, she added. The Allen seaport serves as the main gateway to Luzon, through Matnog, Sorsogon.

Pagasa has advised residents living in low lying and mountainous areas placed under Signal No. 1 to be alert as flashfloods and landslides could occur.

Chedeng was expected to enhance the southwest monsoon and would bring rains over Visayas and Mindanao, the weather bureau added.   /INQUIRER