The Iloilo City government is rushing to complete the evacuation of thousands of residents from coastal communities by 10 a.m. Tuesday, ahead of the expected landfall of Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi).
Darwin Papa, head of the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office’s disaster response division, said during a virtual press conference Monday evening that evacuations from high-risk barangays had begun earlier in the day.
As of 8 p.m. Monday, 575 families or 2,012 individuals from 24 barangays had already been moved to safety.
“Our ultimate time, we can consider the most critical period when all the target residents are inside evacuation centers is 10 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday). By that particular hour, they should be in our evacuation centers,” Papa said.
He added that more than 6,000 individuals from coastal areas are expected to be evacuated. The city has opened 450 evacuation centers that can accommodate over 47,000 families or 226,741 individuals, all equipped with tents, beddings, and food supplies.
Community kitchens have also been activated to provide cooked meals to evacuees and to 162 stranded passengers at Parola Wharf after ferry trips to Guimaras were suspended.
Papa said the city may begin feeling the typhoon’s impact between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday, with the system expected to move toward Palawan by 2 a.m. Wednesday.
More Electric and Power Corp. has raised its alert status from Blue to Orange, deploying additional crews, vehicles, and support teams to ensure quick response to outages or emergencies.
“Under Orange Alert protocols, we are deploying additional manning and crew resources, including standby teams, additional response vehicles, and specialized support personnel,” the company said.
Meanwhile, the Panay Energy Development Corp. has activated contingency measures to protect its facilities and workforce during the storm.
“These measures are in place to ensure the protection of PEDC’s vital plant infrastructure and the safety of its workforce,” it said.
Classes at all levels and work in government offices across Iloilo City have been suspended, while private firms are urged to follow suit for their employees’ safety. The city remains under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1, according to PAGASA.