Tropical depression “Amang” continued to move toward the provinces of Surigao on Sunday afternoon, the weather bureau said.
As of 5 p.m. the center of “Amang” is estimated 175 kilometers southeast of Surigao City in Surigao del Norte.
The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 60 kph, and was moving west- northwest at 30 kph.
Warning signal no. 1 remained hoisted in Eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Eastern Bohol, northern Cebu, Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands and Camiguin
Meanwhile, the Albay Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office had ordered the mandatory evacuation of 80,234 residents in the flood- and landslide-prone areas as “Amang” was expected to bring heavy rains on Sunday night.
Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara suspended Monday’s classes in all levels in the public and private schools as a preemptive measure.
Cedric Daep, Albay Public Safety and Emergency Office chief, told the Philippine News Agency that the mandatory evacuation order signed by Bichara took effect at 9 a.m.
He said the advisory directed all 18 town and city disaster councils to be on alert and execute the mandatory evacuation of residents in the villages threatened by flooding and landslides.
The areas always hit by flooding and landslide are the cities of Legazpi, Tabaco and Ligao and the towns of Tiwi, Malinao, Bacacay Polangui, Libon and Manito.
Moreover, 242 villages are flood-prone areas while 99 villages are landslide-prone areas.
The mandatory evacuation affected 58,614 families in the flood-endangered villages and 21,620 in the landslide-threatened villages.
Daep said heavy rains could hit the province until Monday. With PNA