Over 5K evacuees in Cebu set to go home

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The storm signals all over Cebu have been lifted on Monday, February 22, and thousands of evacuees from disaster-prone areas in the province are set to home.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) downgraded the province’s alert status from Red to Blue on Monday.

Read: Storm Signal in Cebu lifted

This as the state weather bureau has removed all storm signals in Cebu on Monday after Auring has further weakened into a low-pressure area (LPA) as of 2 p.m. 

“We have decided to remain under Blue Alert as Auring is still within PAR (Philippine Area of Responsibility),” said Rhee Telen Jr., information officer of PDRRMO.

Read: Cebu on red alert for #AuringPH

Cebu’s disaster and rescue committee recorded over 5,000 individuals or 1,260 families from 10 localities subjected to preemptive evacuation since Saturday, February 20. 

But as threats of Auring dissipated, Telen told reporters in a press interview that these individuals were expected to go home. 

These evacuees are from Danao City, and the towns of Daanbantayan, Bantayan, Tuburan, Poro, Madridejos, Sibonga, San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Tudela. 

Fortunately, there were no casualties, injuries and other untoward incidents related to Auring that were reported in Cebu as of Monday morning. 

Sea trips in Cebu have also slowly resumed. 

Read: Close to 500 passengers stranded in CV ports

In a separate advisory, the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) announced that they received orders from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) allowing the resumption of sea trips with the storm signals lifted. 

Data from PDRRMO showed over 500 individuals and 500 cargoes were left stranded in various ports in Cebu since Friday when the PCG first ordered the suspension of all sea trips.

But Telen said some had already departed the ports on Monday morning. 

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), in its 2 p.m. severe weather bulletin reported that Auring has further weakened into an LPA.

Auring has made landfall over Batag Island, Laoang, Northern Samar at 9 a.m. on Monday as a Tropical Depression. 

“It is forecast to move northwestward to westward and may traverse Bicol Region, southern Quezon, Marinduque, and northern Mindoro in the next 24 hours. There is an increasing likelihood of the disturbance dissipating while traversing Southern Luzon,” Pagasa said. /dbs

Read: ‘Auring’ makes landfall in Northern Samar, heads towards Albay-Sorsogon area