TACLOBAN CITY, Dec. 28 -- At least 3,200 passengers have been stranded in various Eastern Visayas seaports as authorities suspended sea travel, while hundreds of families moved to safer grounds as Tropical Depression Usman dumped heavy rains Friday.
Based on reports received by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, "Usman" has prevented 12 ships from leaving ports, stranding 328 vehicles.
Stranded passengers are in the ports of Ormoc and Bato in Leyte; Maasin, Liloan, and San Ricardo in Southern Leyte; San Isidro and Allen in Northern Samar; and Calbayog in Samar.
Local government units readied 571 evacuation centers in six provinces to accommodate families from communities vulnerable to flooding and landslides.
Since Thursday, pre-emptive evacuation has been done in the town of Naval, Biliran; some parts of Eastern Samar; and Tacloban City.
In Naval town, 11 families have been evacuated to the gymnasium, where each family from danger zones took shelter in evacuation tents waiting for the weather to improve, Raymundo Espina, Naval municipal administrator said.
“Aside from evacuation tents, the local government also provided play spaces for children to relieve stress and help them relax while staying at the evacuation center,” Espina said.
The Philippine National Police has deployed 120 policemen for search and rescue operations, while 1,167 others were on standby.
The Department of Public Works and Highways reported that the road in Lope de Vega has been flooded. The highway links Calbayog City in Samar and Catarman, the capital town of Northern Samar.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 8 (Eastern Visayas) was ready to deliver prepositioned food packs to local government units if necessary.
The DSWD has a stockpile of relief items, both food and non-food, at the Regional Resource Operations Section, said Vina Aquino, DSWD-8 information officer, in a phone interview.
Currently, DSWD has 24,543 family food packs and additional food stock that includes 653 sacks of rice, 86,328 cans of corned beef, 126,496 cans of beef loaf, 2,140 cans of meatloaf, and 112,100 sachets of coffee.
Non-food relief items include 24,397 blankets, 594 mosquito nets, 14,914 malongs, 1,344 hygiene kits, 497 family kits, and 497 sleeping kits.
Aside from the food packs from the DSWD, some local government units have also prepared relief goods to be distributed among families affected by the weather disturbance. (RTA/PNA)
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