Friday, November 23, 2007 Super storm to skip Cebu
CEBU will be spared the force of typhoon Mina, as the Bicol region is expected to suffer the worst effects of the storm.
Weather forecaster Alice Canasa of Pag-asa in Mactan said that Cebu experienced rains and overcast skies yesterday not because of typhoon Mina but the convergence of two wind directions.
Thousands of people were being evacuated yesterday as tropical storm Mina gained strength, becoming a typhoon as it neared the eastern Philippines, officials said.
Mina, packing winds of 120 kilometers per hour with gusts of 150 kilometers per hour, was barreling towards the Bicol peninsula, southeast of the capital Manila, the local weather bureau said.
President Arroyo is aiming for a “zero-casualty” target from the typhoon which was due to reach land on the weekend, and had “ordered the pre-emptive evacuation of vulnerable areas,” officials said.
The Army and police were prepared to forcibly move those who did not want to go, said Joey Salceda, governor of Albay province in the Bicol region.
Evacuation
Officials were on alert for mudflows that may come cascading down the slopes of Mayon Volcano as a result of the typhoon’s strong winds and rain, as well as storm surges that may hit coastal areas, Salceda said.
Evacuation efforts are an attempt to avoid a repeat of a disaster last November when tropical storm Durian created volcanic mudflows that left more than 1,200 dead.
So far, 26,142 people were evacuated in 12 towns and cities in Albay, according to figures released by the provincial disaster coordinating center.
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council (CCDCC) sent heavy equipment to landslide-prone areas in the mountain barangays.
City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, also chairman of the CCDCC, said they don’t want to be caught unprepared in case calamity strikes, like what happened when storm Lando swept Cebu last Monday.
“As early as today we have already prepared for storm Mina. Several sets of heavy equipment are already in place and people were given assignments for emergency response and relief operations in the event of a calamity,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Equipment
Backhoes, graders, road rollers and payloaders were already stationed in Barangay Pamutan and will be used in case landslides occur in Sapangdaku, Kalunasan and other barangays.
Another set was sent to Barangay Busay and will be used for disaster response in Barangays Sudlon 1 and 2 and in Babag.
Chainsaws and mud-pumps are also on standby in case fallen trees block the roads and flooding occurs in some areas.
Carillo said they have also tapped the Marine reservists in Cebu and other volunteers for disaster response and relief operations if anything happens during and after the storm.
Cruz of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) in Manila said that if the typhoon doesn’t change direction, it will hit Bicol by tomorrow morning or veer northwest and make landfall in Quezon province farther north the next day.
The typhoon is also enhancing northeast monsoon rains, drenching the eastern Philippines, he said.
Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon are among the six provinces of the Bicol region on the southern tip of the main Philippine island of Luzon.
President Arroyo, worried about a repeat of last year’s disaster, ordered mass evacuations in the typhoon’s expected path and cut short her trip to Singapore, where she was attending an Asian summit. (EOB/LCR/(AFP/AP)
