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On Saturday, authorities evacuated nearly 1 million people in the path of the world’s strongest typhoon this year and health officials reminded the public to maintain security measures against the pandemic despite being crammed into storm shelters. .
Typhoon Rolly (international name: Goni) was moving south of Luzon at 25 kilometers per hour, with sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 265 kilometers per hour. It was about 345 km east northeast of Virac, Catanduanes, around 4pm on Saturday.
The Philippines’ Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the typhoon was forecast to hit Catanduanes and Camarines provinces on Sunday morning and then pass through Quezon province.
As it moves westward into the South China Sea, it will bring heavy to heavy rains accompanied by violent winds to Metro Manila, the southern Tagalog region and central Luzon, but will weaken after crashing into the Sierra Madre Mountains.
ON THE WATER A group of men lifts a boat high above the water off the coast of the city of Legazpi on Saturday in preparation for Typhoon “Rolly” (international name: Goni) that is expected to hit nearby Catanduanes province on Sunday. with a force close to a super typhoon. that could generate more than 3 meters of storm surge. —MARK ALVIC ESPLANA
Supervise evacuees
The Undersecretary of Health, María Rosario Vergeire, urged local officials to deploy security officers who would regularly monitor evacuees who may be crammed into closed and cramped shelters, which are conducive to the transmission of the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 .
Security officials will help ensure evacuees meet minimum health standards – physical distancing, wearing masks and frequent hand washing – to prevent the number of infections from rising, he said.
Security officials will also regularly check for COVID-19 symptoms among evacuees, who will need to be isolated, Vergeire said.
“We are reminding everyone to be vigilant, aware and cautious. We know the risk when people congregate, ”he said.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said nearly 1 million people had been evacuated on Saturday.
According to Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the NDRRMC, most of the evacuees were from the Bicol region, where the Civil Defense Office had prepared to evacuate 2.5 million people, or some 570,000 families, for the Sunday morning.
FLEEING ‘ROLLY’ AND POSSIBLE LAHAR Residents of Barangay Padang, city of Legazpi, Albay province, head to an evacuation center on Saturday, as authorities warn not only against strong winds and storm surge, but also against the deadly flow of lahar from Mayon volcano. In Metro Manila (top photo), a family has also taken refuge in a primary school in Barangay Poblacion, Muntinlupa city, with a social worker checking their condition. —MARK ALVIC ESPLANA / LYN RILLON
COVID-19 facilities
In Camarines Sur, the provincial government transferred some 20,000 families before noon on Saturday.
Camarines Norte officials expected to evacuate at least 35,000 families, or 159,000 people.
In Albay, thousands of villages prone to floods, lahar, landslides and storm surge were evacuated, according to the Provincial Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.
Jalad said that the positive and suspected COVID-19 cases in “mega” treatment facilities in Metro Manila and nearby Bulacan had been transferred to hospitals and hotels.
He said the tents where they were located on the grounds of the Philippine International Convention Center and the Philippine Sand Complex might not survive the typhoon’s winds.
Meteorologist Ariel Rojas told reporters that the storm’s eye wall would pass Sunday night or early Monday near Metro Manila, which will experience winds strong enough to break down trees and damage homes made of lightweight materials.
Pagasa also warned of a moderate to high risk of storm surge. In the northern coastal areas of the provinces of Quezón and Isla Polillo, Catanduanes and Camarines, storm surges of more than 3 meters are expected.
Palace: keep calm
In the coastal areas of Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, southeast Batangas and southwest Quezon, sea levels could rise up to 3 meters, he said.
Rojas said Rolly probably won’t gain super typhoon strength because he was already close to landing.
Pagasa classifies a storm with sustained winds of 220 km / h or more as a super typhoon. Supertyphon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), which had sustained winds of 235 km / h and gusts of up to 275 km / h when it made landfall in November 2013, left more than 6,000 dead and missing.
Senator Bong Go said that President Duterte was in Mindanao monitoring the typhoon and that he could quickly fly back to Manila anytime the weather permits.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque urged the public to monitor government weather bulletins and “remain calm but vigilant … and keep your family and loved ones dry and safe.”
In Daet, the capital of Camarines Norte, a 55-year-old member of a rescue group who wanted to be identified only as Dong, was busy securing the roof of his house on Saturday morning.
She remembers the devastation caused by Typhoon “Rosing” (international name: Angela) that swept through her city 25 years ago as one of the worst typhoons to hit the country since 1945.
Rosing caught them off guard, Dong said. He had to walk more than 3 kilometers through flooded streets and downed trees to get home after being trapped in a store he was running.
PRIZED POSSESSIONS A man secures his farm animals near the Pinacanuan River at Baculod in the city of Ilagan, Isabela, as the province prepares for “Rolly” on Saturday. —VILLAMOR VISAYA JR
Keeping animals safe
This time, Dong was taking no chances and even secured three chickens, 10 chickens and eight roosters that he kept as pets in a room in his house to keep them safe.
“We are preparing because we are in the direct path of Rolly. Whether strong or weak, as long as you are in the path of the typhoon, you will really have to prepare, ”he said.
Bishops Joel Baylon from Legazpi and Rolando Tria Tirona from Naga asked the faithful to pray for the safety of the people.
Santiago Mella, Daet disaster management officer, said the initial evacuation plan was to house one family per classroom, but increased the number to three on Saturday because there were too many evacuations.
However, he said barriers would be installed to separate each family as a COVID-19 safety measure.
By late Saturday afternoon, the streets of Legazpi city were deserted after Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara ordered the closure of small and large businesses at 4 p.m. to allow residents to prepare for the typhoon. Albay’s shops will be closed on Sundays.
Hundreds of residents packed department stores before they closed to buy supplies, particularly food and bottled water.
SM City Legazpi allowed car and motorcycle owners to leave their vehicles in its third-level parking space free of charge to keep them safe from flooding, according to Claire Hariri, a spokeswoman for the mall.
In Ligao City, also in Albay, farmers harvested their still-ripe rice to save them from the anticipated floods, said farmer Analyn Parco.
In Nueva Ecija province, the Department of Agriculture advised rice farmers to harvest their crops that were 70 percent ripe.
In Isabela province, farmer Rolly Nicolás was harvesting his maize while still young, which he would use to feed his cattle.
Other farmers in the province, such as Gloria Bartolomé, herded cows and moved to higher ground away from a river that was swelling due to the discharges of the Magat dam.
—Reports by Nikka G. Valenzuela, Jovic Yee, Patricia Denise M. Chiu, Mar S. Arguelles, Rey Anthony Ostria, Michael Jaucian, Ma. April Mier-Manjares, Delfin Mallari Jr., Villamor Visayas Jr., and Armand Galang
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