Vinta landfall: Lessons from Pablo make Davao Oriental folks conscious, safer

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The lessons of typhoon Pablo which hit their province on December 4,  2012,  placed Davao Oriental residents on a safer ground as tropical storm Vinta (Tembin) made a landfall in their area Friday dawn.

The Provincial government of Davao Oriental listed some 3,379 families staying at the different evacuation centers as of 8:00 in the morning December 22.

 

Davao Oriental is among the  coastal provinces of Mindanao, is facing the Pacific Ocean which render the province vulnerable to strong winds and storms but the lessons of Pablo helped the people prepare for an upcoming natural disaster like Vinta.

Engineer Maria Victoria G. Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the Governor of Davao Oriental told Newsline.ph “As early as December 21 morning, Governor Nelson Dayanghirang convened all agencies and barangay captains and briefed everyone about the preparation. So, on  Thursday morning, all agencies were placed on hold while residents in the low-lying areas and coastal villages were requested to stay in the evacuation centers, I mean, to safer grounds in their respective municipalities, there was preemptive evacuation already.”

Incident Command Post (ICP) worked with the Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Councils in the different units and advisories were disseminated down the line, Rodriguez added “We were preparing for the landfall and every agency was on hold.”

At around 1:45 this morning, Vinta made a landfall in the municipality of Cateel, but every resident living in the danger zone was already at the evacuation center, she added.

Thousands of Midnanao’ans from Misamis Oriental to Davao Oriental were evacuated to a safe ground as strong winds and heavy rains hit their areas but as of 9:00 in the morning today, there was no casualty reported.

Local government units from areas identified by the National Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council prepared for the landfall.

In Hinatuan Surigao del Sur, residents were evacuated as early as 4:00 in the afternoon December 21.

(Video Courtesy: Baggi Colmenares)

In Misamis Oriental, the  local government has  ordered preventive evacuation and urged residents in low-lying areas to proceed to the identified evacuation centers.

 

in Compostela Valley province there are 4,292 individuals from the towns of New Bataan, Montevista, Nabunturan, Maragusan, Mabini, Pantukan, Mawab and Compostela currently staying in evacuation centers.

In Davao City, The City Government of Davao is asking the residents of to stay indoor as tropical storm Vinta affects the city.

In it’s website, the city government announced “Davao   reiterates the advice for the public, who do not have important matters to attend outside their homes, to stay indoors for the next 24 hours from December 21-22 because of Signal No. 1 brought by Tropical Storm Vinta affecting Mindanao.

Residents   living in flood prone areas and landslide danger zones were also advised to “prepare for pre-emptive evacuation whenever ordered by the City Government or conduct their own evacuation when they perceive that their safety is at risk.

Hundreds were stranded in Samal Island and Davao City ports as the  Coast Guard XI suspends the operation of  all types of  seacraft  from Davao City to Samal Island and vice versa has been suspended since 5:00 in the afternoon of December 21.

“The people are now conscious and they are always on alert once they hear the word storm, because their their experience as he had Storm Pablo and Agaton in 2012,” Rodriguez added.

As of 10:00 in the morning today, December 22, the provincial Disaster Risk and reduction Management Council is having a meeting to assess the impact of Vinta in Davao Oriental.-Editha Z. Caduaya/Newsline.ph