Almost 10,000 evacuate in Samar due to Ambo; shut down across the province

MANILA – About 10,000 people were evacuated in northern Samar after typhoon Ambo, with heavy rain and strong winds, made landfall in the country, a disaster official said Thursday.

Rei Josiah Echano, head of the North Samar province disaster risk reduction and management office, said in an interview that some 9,700 people were sent to evacuation centers after Ambo passed through the province, cutting off electricity and communication in the area.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Echano said evacuees were still required to observe physical distancing and other policies to prevent possible contamination.

“We do not remove those policies to protect the health aspect of native evacuees (to ensure the health aspect of our evacuees),” he told ABS-CBN Teleradyo.

Physical distancing to stop the spread of COVID-19 should be observed in typhoon shelters, Health Usec. Maria Rosario Vergeire said before.

Relief items have been distributed to evacuees, Echano said, as the province had prepared for the Ambo attack.

The disaster management official said they have to wait three days to confirm the damage the typhoon has caused across the province.

“We will send the rapid damage assessment team po … papadala to namin ita to the affected areas,” he said.

Echano requested more relief goods as the number of evacuees is expected to increase due to the typhoon. At least 300,000 people may have to leave their homes, he said.

“Lalaki pa ‘to. Malay pa tayo sa mga projections,” he said.

(This will get bigger. We are still far from projections.)

Both, the first typhoon of the year in the country, made landfall in San Policarpo, Eastern Samar, after noon. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 155 km / h and gusts of 190 kph starting at 1 p.m., PAGASA said.

The state meteorological agency warned that “life-threatening” storms 2 to 4 meters high may also affect northern Samar, eastern Samar (east coast), Samar (west coast), Sorsogon, Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur , Camarines Norte, Quezon and Aurora.