THE Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 recorded no fatalities after Tropical Depression Samuel passed by the north of Cebu past 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21.
Chief Supt. Debold Sinas, PRO 7 director, said the disaster preparedness of local government units and the police helped in attaining the zero casualty status.
He reverted the police’s full alert status to normal status.
No untoward incident happened in the landslide-hit portion of Barangay Tina-an, City of Naga, according to Sinas.
The police official said he did not receive reports of flooding and landslides.
As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 21, Sinas said they recorded 1,953 passengers stranded in major ports in Central Visayas.
He ordered the lower units to deploy some personnel to the ports and secure the passengers.
Sinas said more than 1,150 evacuees in the region were allowed to go back to their respective homes.
Evacuation
Around 485 families from two cities and four municipalities in Northern Cebu underwent preemptive evacuation at dawn before Samuel made landfall.
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said the cities of Bogo and Danao and the towns of Sogod, Daanbantayan, Carmen and Tabogon were able to evacuate residents living in coastal areas.
The PDRRMO officials urged local disaster officers not to be complacent as Typhoon Signal No. 1 had not been lifted in Cebu as of 12 noon Wednesday.
In Bogo City, around 118 families were evacuated from four barangays Tuesday night. They were eventually allowed to go home at around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
In Sogod, 15 families from two barangays also underwent preemptive evacuation. They remained in the evacuation site as of press time.
In Danao City, 158 families from two barangays were also evacuated on Tuesday night and had not left the evacuation centers since Wednesday noon.
In Daanbantayan, 144 families from nine barangays evacuated as early as 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
They were allowed to go home at around 10:50 a.m. Wednesday.
In Carmen, 45 families from two barangays were also preemptively evacuated last Tuesday night, while in Tabogon, five families from three barangays underwent preemptive evacuation after heavy rain started to pour. They were allowed to go home at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Julius Regner, PDRRMO information officer, said no untoward incidents were reported during Samuel’s onslaught in Cebu.
Regner said they were thankful that local disaster officials and even residents of danger zones immediately evacuated just before the storm could make landfall.
“We saw the interventions done by our local disaster risk reduction and management officers in the different towns. Not only in the northern part, since we’re monitoring the whole province,” said Regner.
Trips resume
The Philippine Coast Guard Central Visayas (PCG-CV) has allowed all vessels in Cebu and Bohol to ply their respective routes after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Sciences Administration (Pagasa) lifted the tropical cyclone warning signal.
Lt.JG Mike Encina, Coast Guard District Central Visayas (CDGCV) spokesman, said their policy provides that once Pagasa raises a cyclone warning signal, they will automatically prohibit all vessels to sail.
He said this suspension order will automatically be revoked once there is no more warning signal.
As a result, Encina said all the stranded passengers, vessels with rolling cargoes, and motorized bancas have freely departed to their respective destinations.
On the other hand, Avegail Maningo of the GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) said that all flights from Mactan-Cebu International Airport to other destinations resumed operation since 7 p.m. of Nov. 20.
She said the flights of smaller airplanes to Surigao, Siargao and Camiguin were suspended Tuesday.
For his part, engineer Alfredo Quiblat of Pagasa Visayas said that TD Samuel blew at 55 kilometers per hour (kph) when it fell on Borongan, Samar Tuesday night, Nov. 20; 45 kph in the northern tip of Cebu and 40 kph in Iloilo Province at 10 am.
As of press time, Quiblat said the cyclone was in Palawan and expected to be out of the country by Friday morning.
Quiblat explained that there was less rainfall when TD Samuel passed by Cebu because it was a sheared-type cyclone, which means the cloud was not equally distributed.
“The thick clouds were only seen in the Samar area which experienced 130 millimeters of rainfall in 36 hours, causing floods there,” Quiblat said.
On the other hand, Cebu had the “stratiform” clouds, resulting in only light and moderate rains.
“We expect an improved weather condition today and tomorrow,” Quiblat said.
Season
Pagasa clarified that in the summer months until October, storms usually pass through Luzon because of the southern wind. From October to April, storms pass through Visayas and Mindanao due to northeasterly winds.
Nagiel Bañacia, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO), said there was no major injury or damage in Cebu City.
A cornfield in Barangay Taptap had minor damage due to strong winds, while a house made of light materials in Sitio Tapuko, Barangay Pit-os collapsed.
In Sitio Sandayong, Barangay Buhisan, Cebu City, 274 individuals returned to their houses after seeking shelter at the barangay sports complex.
This was after officials assured their neighborhood was already safe from landslides.
Buhisan Barangay Captain Gremar Barete said they prioritized 71 families who volunteered to leave their houses.
He was thankful for the residents’ cooperation.
He said the food that the City Government provided them did not suffice, although they were able to address the lack. (from PAC, AZLG, AYB, FMD of SuperBalita Cebu and JKV, KAL, EOB)