11 regions feel impact of Egay
MANILA, Philippines — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Monday said it was monitoring 6,748 barangays in 11 regions, including Metro Manila, affected by Typhoon Egay (international name: Doksuri) and the intensified “habagat” or southwest monsoon.
At Monday’s Laging Handa briefing, OCD spokesperson Edgar Posadas said local and regional authorities were on top of the situation and had not yet sought the national government’s assistance.
The affected barangays, as identified in a predisaster risk assessment the other day, are found in much of Luzon — the Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) and Bicol regions — and the entirety of the Visayas: Western, Eastern and Central Visayas regions.
In Metro Manila, it is “possible” that some 1,400 barangays would be affected by the inclement weather, he said.
But there were also reports of the storm’s impact reaching Mindanao.
In the coastal city of Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte, landing craft tank Pacifica 2 ran aground due to bad weather brought by Egay, according to the Philippine Coast Guard. All 24 crew members were rescued.
Evacuations
Posadas said the OCD had received updates on residents being evacuated and was verifying landslides reported in Western Visayas.
In Catanduanes province, floods have forced the evacuation of 10 families (51 people).
Amid heavy rain in Camarines Sur, the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council also urged residents in high-risk areas to evacuate.
In Albay province, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it would continue its lahar alerts in areas around Mayon Volcano.
According to Phivolcs officer in charge Teresito Bacolcol, his agency’s personnel have so far found no volcanic material being “remobilized” by the rain.
“[But residents] living near… river channels should stay alert and be ready to move to higher ground if they experience continuous and torrential rainfall,” he said.
In Western Visayas, a total of 96 families (348 people) have so far been evacuated.
Elsewhere in Bicol and other parts of Luzon, sea travel has been suspended since Sunday due to huge waves and rough seas.
Some 3,000 passengers in Bicol, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Eastern Visayas have been stranded.
Around 11,000 people or 3,300 families have been affected by the southwest monsoon and Egay, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a report.
—REPORTS FROM JEROME ANING, CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE, DELFIN T. MALLARI JR., FRANCES MANGOSING AND MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES
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