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MANILA – The coronavirus pandemic has depleted resources in some areas in the path of Typhoon Ambo, local officials said Thursday as they struggled to ensure physical distance at evacuation sites.
In North Samar, where the Philippines’ first storm this year is expected to hit land later on Thursday, some 400,000 people, or about 60 percent of residents, have to flee landslides and flood-prone areas, said the province’s chief disaster officer, Josh Echano.
The province has been closed since March to stop the spread of COVID-19, which “exhausted” resources in some cities, he told DZMM.
Some evacuees, he said, would have to remain in unused isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients.
#AmboPH has escalated into a typhoon | via @dost_pagasa pic.twitter.com/6tiFmlbF6l
– ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) May 13, 2020
COVID-19’s quarantine facilities will also receive Sorsogon residents who will be evacuated from coastal areas, Engr said. Raden Dimaano, head of the provincial disaster office.
In Albay, a “culture-based” evacuation will allow 8 families who know each to share a classroom, up from 10 families during previous storms, the province’s chief disaster officer, Cedric Daep said. Churches, he said, would also welcome evacuees.
An interagency task force requires the public to stay at least one meter away to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Albay farmers earlier this week began harvesting rice and other crops in preparation for Ambo, Daep said.
Albay farmers began harvesting their yields on Tuesday, a few days ahead of schedule, as a tropical depression #AmboPH threatens the country.https: //t.co/OI7g1tYBPT
– ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) May 12, 2020
Thursday’s typhoon will occasionally bring torrential rains in Samar provinces, and moderate to heavy rains in Sorsogon, Albay, Catanduanes, Masbate and the rest of Visayas del Este, PAGASA climate specialist Ezra Bulquerin said.
On Friday or Saturday, the storm will hit Metro Manila with rain and strong winds, he said.
About 20 major storms in one year hit the Philippines, the closest largest land mass facing the Pacific typhoon belt.
Visit the ABS-CBN Weather Center for more updates.
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