No power in Catanduanes after Typhoon Nina’s landfall – governor

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – Catanduanes Governor Joseph Cua said on Sunday, December 25, that electricity was cut off in his entire province after Typhoon Nina (Nock-ten) made landfall there at 6:30 pm.

“Power is out in the entire province,” Cua said.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) in Catanduanes evacuated at least 4,641 families or 20,845 individuals.

“We evacuated more than 4,000 families or 20,845 individuals from 59 barangays of 11 municipalities. We’re bracing for the worst impact of [the typhoon]. But everything is in place and hoping that no single precious life will be lost,” Cua said.

The governor added that the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) already transferred stranded passengers from the Tabaco Port to Tabaco National High School.

More than one million Bicolanos are spending Christmas in evacuation centers due to Typhoon Nina.

Typhoon Nina comes over 10 years after Typhoon Reming (Durian) affected Bicolanos when it hit Albay on November 30, 2006. 

The flooding caused by Reming was aggravated by the mud coming from Mt Mayon, leaving 1,399 people dead.

Preemptive, forced evacuations in Albay

In Albay, disaster responders evacuated 207,774 families or over a million individuals living in 3 cities and 15 towns that are prone to flooding, landslides, lahar flow, and storm surges.

Data from the PDRRMC in Albay earlier showed that 1,616 villages will be prone to flooding, landslides, lahar flow, and storm surges should Nina hit the province.

Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) chief Cedric Daep gave a breakdown of the affected families:  

• 59,790 families live in low-lying villages prone to flooding
• 21,294 families live in landslide-prone areas
• 34,631 families live in lahar-prone areas
• 29,087 families live in coastal areas at risk of storm surges 

Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara ordered business establishments to close down early on Sunday so that their employees could safely go home.

In Pio Duran, Albay, authorities had to conduct forced evacuation in 4 villages to keep families living in danger zones safe from the wrath of the typhoon.

Senior Inspector Marianne Fernandez, the chief of police in Pio Duran, said 170 families or 572 individuals from 4 barangays were evacuated.

At least 1,766 passengers stranded at the Pio Duran seaport were also moved to Josefina Resto Bar located at the 2nd floor of the business establishment LCC.

Forced evacuation was also conducted in flood- and lahar-prone areas in Malilipot, also a town in Albay. – Rappler.com