Ruby evacuees put up tents along highway

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – Residents of coastal villages in the Samar provinces have encamped in makeshift tents along the provincial highway as Typhoon Ruby, packing sustained winds of 195 km/h, threatens to hit the region this weekend.

In Barangay Sto Niño, Giporlos, Eastern Samar, local officials and policemen made last-minute calls for remaining residents to move to elevated areas or designated evacuation centers.

Some residents chose to put up their makeshift tents along the highway that connects Tacloban to Borongan, Eastern Samar, where Ruby is expected to make its first landfall.

Eastern Samar, Northern Samar and Samar are among the 47 provinces listed by the state weather bureau as “potential high-risk areas.” These are the provinces that are likely to be affected by the typhoon’s 600 kilometer diameter and experience heavy rainfall.

Matias Balbada, from Barangay Amambukali in Marabut, Samar, built his shelter in a ditch along the highway. Another evacuee, 37-year-old Lily Valdenor, also took refuge in a tent along the provincial highway in Giporlos town.

More government troops were deployed to Tacloban and nearby coastal towns to ensure peace and order. 

Ruby is currently classified as a super typhoon by the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The Philippine weather bureau is now expecting landfall early Sunday, December 7, over the Eastern Samar-Northern Samar area, that will be “associated with strong winds, storm surge (up to 4.5 meters) and heavy-intense rainfall.” (READ: Higher storm surge predictions as Ruby nears)

The weather bureau forecasts the storm to then cross Samar, then over Masbate, Romblon, and the northern part of Mindoro island. It is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Wednesday evening, December 10. – Rappler.com