THE Police Regional Office (PRO)-Central Visayas declared a full alert status on Tuesday morning, November 20, in preparation for Tropical Depression Samuel.

The status means that all police officers are not allowed to go on leave and they should stay put in their respective units.

Police officials deployed 361 search and rescue (SAR) in the provinces of Bohol and Cebu, while 1,311 SAR personnel are on standby as Samuel is expected to make landfall in Cebu Wednesday dawn, November 21.

As of 4 a.m. Tuesday, November 20, the report from PRO-Central Visayas stated that 66 persons were evacuated in Cebu and 456 in Bohol.

Police identified 465 evacuation centers in the region: 48 in Bohol; 103 in Siquijor; 248 in Negros Oriental; and 66 in Cebu.

Some parts of the region have started experiencing heavy rains but no flooding incident has been reported as of Tuesday morning. (KAL)