Ruby starts whipping Samar

CATBALOGAN CITY, Philippines – Heavy rains and strong winds began battering Eastern Samar yesterday as Typhoon Ruby (international name Hagupit) moved closer to land.

The typhoon, the strongest this year, was expected to make landfall last night.

Rough seas prompted the provincial government to suspend delivery of relief supplies to some island municipalities.

“Because of the rough seas, it is too dangerous for us to transport relief packs to those island towns,” Samar Gov. Sharee Ann Tan said.

She said she has requested the military to help provincial relief and disaster teams reach the evacuees.

Sea travel has been suspended in affected provinces since Thursday.

Tan said she had advised mayors of island municipalities such as Almagro, Tagapul-an, Sto. Niño, Daram, to buy relief items from local stores and assured them of replenishment once the ban on sea travel is lifted. Some 2,000 evacuees who took refuge in the mountains and caves of Basey town were also seeking food packs and medicine.

A barangay official said some of the evacuees staying in caves had become ill. “It is hard for us to find medicines because all of the pharmacies are closed,” the village leader said. Basey Mayor Igmedio Ponferrada said medical help is on the way.

In Tacloban City, soldiers joined policemen in securing business establishments to prevent them from getting looted just like what happened in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Army tanks, police cars and soldiers in full battle gear were seen in the vicinity of big shopping malls, groceries and stores in the city.

Sand bags and metal barriers were also set up around hotels, lodging houses and restaurants frequented by international journalists covering the typhoon. City residents who could afford chose to stay at hotels and lodging houses.

Mayor Alfred Romualdez said security was a big problem in the aftermath of Yolanda last year. “We just need to be ready this time,” Romualdez told reporters.

Airports closed

Six airports in Eastern Visayas and Bicol, meanwhile, have shut down, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

CAAP deputy director general Rodante Joya said in a text message that airports in Calbayog and Catarman in Samar; Tacloban in Leyte as well as in Legaspi, Naga, and Masbate in the Bicol region were ordered closed. This developed as Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appealed yesterday to the Department of Transportation and Communications to keep the Tacloban City airport open to accommodate more evacuees wishing to leave the city.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) announced the cancellation of 92 domestic flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

A total of 84 flights were cancelled at the NAIA Terminal 3 while eights flights were cancelled at NAIA Terminal 4.

Budget airline Cebu Air Inc. (Cebu Pacific) cancelled a total of 54 flights to Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Caticlan, Dipolog, Legaspi, Naga, Ozamiz, Pagadian Roxas, and Tagbilaran.

Tiger Airways Philippines called off eight flights to Cagayan, Roxas, Tagbilaran, and Tacloban.

PAL Express, a unit of national flag carrier Philippine Airlines Inc. cancelled 30 flights to Catarman, Calbayog, Naga, Surigao, Legaspi, Masbate, Tacloban, and Caticlan.

PAL announced Friday evening that it was canceling a total of 36 flights for Dec. 6 and 7 due to typhoon Ruby.

“Passengers are advised to reschedule travel plans for the weekend, especially to typhoon-affected areas. Passengers may rebook for travel within 30 days from original flight date, with rebooking fees/charges waived,” PAL said.

AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Zest cancelled 27 flights scheduled for today and all flights scheduled for tomorrow.

Cancelled domestic flights today include those to Cebu, Tagbilaran, Puerto Princesa, and Kalibo. Likewise, flights between Cebu and Incheon, as well as between Manila and Kuala Lumpur, and Manila-Shanghai were also called off.

The airline also cancelled 29 domestic and international flights for Tuesday. 

Cooperative

Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II said residents in affected areas were now generally more cooperative with authorities in evacuation efforts.

“There were still some who were really hard-headed, and that’s why we asked the police to talk to them,” Roxas said in Filipino over radio dzRB.

Roxas, who is in Eastern Samar as head of the national government frontline team that oversees the ongoing preparations for Typhoon Ruby, said that while getting residents out of coastal areas was an achievement, it’s another thing to prepare them for the effects of the heavy rains and strong winds that he likened to a “giant electric fan.” He said there was still electricity and telecommunications service.

But Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said there was no more power in Borongan City and several towns by noon yesterday.

“On orders of Secretary Mar Roxas, the police and the military carried out a house-to-house saturation drive to make sure that all those living in danger zones are transferred to safe areas,” Evardone said.

Roxas also reported that there was no panic buying and that prices remained stable as well as fuel supply.

He said all heavy equipment and even tricycles were secured and ready for use as part of disaster efforts.

In a statement, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Roxas had been coordinating with local suppliers and evacuation centers to ensure the availability of necessities such as fuel and food.

On Friday, Lacierda said the National Food Authority (NFA) delivered 2,000 sacks of rice to Eastern Samar, which would add to the amount of supplies currently being repacked for evacuated residents.

Roxas said he had directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to maintain high police visibility in the area, to ensure the safety of residents.

“Local governments have been undertaking their own preparations, and are continuing to coordinate with one another,” Lacierda said.

“Their efforts are being augmented by national agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of National Defense (DND). They and the frontline team remain in constant communication with the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), in order to keep track of the typhoon’s movements,” Lacierda said.

Roxas said he had also spoken with Bishop Crispin Varquez regarding the use of the bishop’s residence and cathedral as evacuation centers.

“The news has reached our fellowmen and because we already have experience on Yolanda, a lot more are listening now and following the advisory to evacuate and go to the evacuation centers,” Roxas said.

He promised to stay in Eastern Samar as long as necessary.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin is at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council headquarters while Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman is in Cebu.

Roxas said police officers in affected areas had been instructed to secure their own families first so they would not have to worry about them while discharging their disaster duties.

In Albay, Gov. Joey Salceda asked President Aquino to declare a state of national calamity so local government units can use their calamity funds to address possible typhoon devastation.

US aircraft

The United States is also taking part in relief and possibly rescue efforts as it offered nine C-130 transport aircraft, three P3C Orion, as well as medical relief workers and other support units, said Maj. Emmanuel Garcia of the AFP-Civil Relations Service. He said the US made the offer through its embassy.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Alexander Pama and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Gen. Gregorio Catapang called on residents in affected areas not to take evacuation orders lightly.

“This typhoon is very powerful. We not should put our lives and the lives of those tasked to rescue us on the line,” Pama said.

Catapang said evacuees should not worry about seeing their houses or shops ransacked as soldiers were securing their communities.

He also said that two C-130 cargo planes are on standby at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City and at Clark Field in Pampanga and ready for mercy missions to Borongan after the typhoon is over.

As of 4 p.m., the eye of the typhoon was estimated to be at 100 kilometers east of Dolores, Eastern Samar, according to PAGASA. – With Aurea Calica, Janvic Mateo, Lawrence Agcaoili, Jaime Laude, Cet Dematera, Ramon Lazaro, Ric Sapnu, Evelyn Macairan, Juancho Mahusay, Jess Diaz, Celso Amo, and Marvin Sy