Pacific coastal villages emptied as ‘Yolanda’ nears

DAVAO CITY, the Philippines  - The southern Philippine island of Mindanao appears to be heeding the bitter and tragic lessons of two devastating typhoons of Sendong and Pablo, as the northeastern coastal villages were already emptied of villagers by Wednesday, and as cities and provinces away from the projected path of the coming typhoon firmed up evacuation and rescue capabilities in case of a typhoon detour.

On Wednesday, residents abandoned all the coastal barangays of Dinagat Island off Surigao del Norte, the entire coastal villages of Surigao del Norte and the five coastal municipalities of Surigao del Sur,  said Liza Mazo, director for the Caraga Region of the Office of Civil Defense.

“These are all voluntary evacuations that happened on Wednesday,” she told BusinessMirror on a mobile phone interview Thursday.

She said the Caraga Region has been placed on Signal No. 3 as the typhoon Yolanda, packing winds of as strong as 250 kilometers per hour and with wider path, continued to trek on its projected route and expected to enter Southern Samar by 9:00 am Friday.

“We just hope that it would not make a landfall and only travel through the seas,” she said.

As of Thursday afternoon, the eastern coasts of the two Surigao provinces, which face the Pacific Ocean, already experienced heavy downpour carried by gusty winds. The interior provinces of Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur, sustained only heavy downpour though, the gusty winds dispersed by the mountains between the Surigao provinces and the Agusan provinces.

Further down south to Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley, residents were equally prepared, scared by the repeat of the tragic landfall of Typhoon Pablo in December 2012. Almost 2,000 persons were either killed or missing, more than half of whom were lost in the mudslide that covered a big part of New Bataan town of Compostela Valley.

A teacher in Cateel, Davao Oriental interviewed by a radio station here on Thursday, said residents were seen gathering in the town center awaiting official directive of town officials.  Cateel, along with Baganga and Boston , were flattened by Pablo.

Reports from Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Norte, and their cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, indicated organized evacuation plan and stocking of food and water. These areas were also the ravaged places when typhoon Sendong hit northern Mindanao in December 2011.

In Davao City, the Emergency Response Unit 911 has briefed locally organized disaster rescue teams in the barangays on their coordination already put in  place several years ago.

Emmanuel Jaldon, chief of the unit, said disaster monitoring would be helped by the cameras and gadgets to monitor the rise in river water levels, which were installed in three rivers south of downtown, and including the large Bankerohan River running across the southern edge of downtown.

Liwayway Caligdong, assistant division head of the City Social Services and Development Office, said the social welfare officers and barangay health workers assigned in the district offices would be expected to ensure an organized evacuation to designated centers, which were usually government structures, commonly the barangay gymnasium, public school buildings and even chapels.

“We appeal to all residents to please, prepare for this strong typhoon coming our way,” he said. “Stock up on food and water, ensure you have flashlights, candles, and other survival items.”