By Mar Serrano/PNA
LEGAZPI CITY — The Albay Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has ordered mandatory evacuation of a total of 80,234 residents in flood and landslide-prone areas as Tropical Depression Amang is expected to bring heavy torrential rains Sunday night.
Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara has likewise suspended tomorrow’s classes in all levels in public and private schools as a disaster preemptive measure.
Cedric Daep, Albay Public Safety and Emergency Office (APSEMO) chief, told the Philippine News Agency in a telephone interview that the mandatory evacuation order signed by Bichara took effect at 9 a.m.
He said the PDRRMO advisory directed all 18 town and city disaster councils to be on alert and execute mandatory evacuation of residents in villages threatened by flooding and landslides.
APSEMO data indicate that areas always hit by flooding and landslide are the cities of Legazpi, Tabaco and Ligao, and towns of Tiwi, Malinao, Bacacay Polangui, Libon, and Manito.
Moreover, 242 villages are flood-prone areas while 99 villages are landslide areas.
The mandatory evacuation affected 58,614 families in flood-endangered villages and 21,620 in landslide-threatened villages.
Daep said heavy torrential rains are expected to hit the province until Monday.
Asked about the threats of lahar flow, Daep said the dangers would depend on the rainfall threshold which is 40mm per hour.
“Once the threshold has reached 40mm, evacuation would be declared,” he said.
Daep cited that on Saturday in Guinobatan town, the MDRRMO enforced mandatory evacuation to hundreds of families living near river channels along the slopes of Mayon Volcano.
