By Marjaleen Ramos
The Legazpi City Domestic Airport was “substantially damaged” during the onslaught of Typhoon Tisoy, Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office Chief Cedric Daep said.
Strong winds brought by 'Tisoy' damage parts of Legazpi City Airport
“(The typhoon) substantially damaged the frontage of the airport, the glass windows, the glass wall… including the ceiling,... yung x-ray machine bagsak din. ‘Yung mga upuan, ang mga nakaupo yung ceiling.’Yun yung makikita ngayon, talagang disorganized and messy,” Daep said in an interview with CNN Philippines Tuesday.
Daep said that more than 1,000 evacuees might be able to return to their houses today, except for those whose houses were totally damaged, still under several of floodwater, or affected by landslide.
“Humupa na ang ulan. Mahangin, pero may konti pang ulan. Makulimlim parin ang panahon.. Ngayon we can mobilized na medyo okay na, safe na (The rain has died down. There are still strong wins, but the rains are less. The sky is gloomy. But not, we can start to mobilize. It’s okay now, it’s safe),” he assured.
Strong winds brought by 'Tisoy' damage parts of Legazpi City Airport
(NINO LUCES / MANILA BULLETIN)
Daep said three cities and five municipalities were affected by the Typhoon Tisoy. No casualty was reported.
Some portions of Legazpi City are experiencing power outage and water outage as of press-time, he added.
Daep also said they were already conducting clearing operations to make all roads passable.
He added that prior to the typhoon, they already started pruning tree branches, and bracing trees to prevent them from falling over.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) will determine when the Legazpi Airport can be fully operational again, he added.
As of now, no planes are allowed to leave Legazpi airport.
In its 8 a.m bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported that the eye of Typhoon Tisoy was last spotted in the coastal waters of San Francisco, Quezon.
Province of Albay was placed under Tropical Wind Cyclone Signal No.3.