TD Samuel makes early morning landfall in Daanbantayan town

Tropical Depression Samuel made a landfall at the northern tip of Cebu province at 7 a.m. today, said Engr. Al Quiblat, head of Pagasa Mactan.

But he could not yet say if the weather disturbance caused damage in the area.

“According to our data, it (TD Samuel) passed through the northern tip of Cebu particularly within the vicinity of Daanbantayan,” he said.

Quiblat said that Samuel made its first landfall at 2 a.m. today in Borongan City, Eastern Samar before it hit northern Cebu.

But Samuel’s presence was barely felt in other parts of Cebu province because of the minimal rains that it brought.

“No casualties. No landslides were reported in Cebu City’s mountain barangays as of 7 a.m. today,” said Nagiel Banacia, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO), who spent the night at the city’s ambulance base in the mountain barangay of Taptap to monitor the developments of Tropical Depression Samuel.

Banacia said that raining also stopped in the city’s mountain barangays at around 3:18 a.m.

Mayor Tomas Osmena said that 71 families who were evacuated from Barangay Buhisan were already allowed to go home with the improved weather condition early today.

Pagasa’s 8a.m. advisory said that Tropical Depression Samuel was seen over the Visayan Sea and is headed towards Iloilo province.

Samuel maintained a maximum wind of 45km per hour at is center and gustiness of 70km per hour while it continues to move westward at a speed of 30 km per hour.