Disaster management officials have anticipated the occurrence of landslides in hazard-prone areas in Baybay City, Leyte but they were apparently shocked with the extent of its damage, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) admitted Wednesday, April 13.

NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said alert warnings were issued to local government units (LGUs) in Baybay, Leyte even before Tropical Depression “Agaton” evolved into a typhoon.

“Wala pa si Agaton as a storm, nagbaba na po tayo ng warning at ito ay ipinatupad ng mga kasamahan natin sa local government units sa Baybay (Even before Agaton evolved as a storm, we already issued warnings and these were implemented by our counterparts in the local government units in Baybay),” Timbal said at the Laging Handa press briefing.

Baybay City Mayor Jose Carlos Cari implemented evacuation procedures for residents living in hazard-prone areas and they were transferred into a “relatively safe” part of the communities, Timbal noted.

“According to Mayor , nagevacuate sila mula sa landlisde-prone areas na naidentify sa hazard mapping. Ang hindi natin nakita ay ang tindi ng landslide kasi lumagpas po ang landslide sa hazard-prone areas at naabot ang relatively safe part ng communities (According to Mayor , they evacuated from the landslide-prone areas that were identified in the hazard mapping. What we did not anticipate was the intensity of the landslide because it surpassed the hazard-prone areas and reached the relatively safe part of the communities),” Timbal stressed.

“Supposedly safe ito kung saan ang mga kababayan natin ay tumuloy doon para makaalis sa mapangabnib na lugar pero hindi po nakita na pati sa location na ‘yon ay aabutin ng landslides (Supposedly these areas are safe where the residents were evacuated so they can get away from the dangerous areas but we did not expect that even in those locations will be reached by the landslides),” he added.

The NDRRMC counted 43 deaths that are related to Agaton as of Wednesday morning.

Of these, 37 deaths were recorded in Eastern Visayas (Region 8), and three each were listed in Central Visayas (Region 7) and Davao (Region 11).

There were also seven persons who went missing in Eastern Visayas and Davao; and eight individuals who were injured in Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao (Region 10), Davao, and Soccsksargen (Region 12).

Furthermore, the number of affected Filipinos due to Agaton has already reached 213,327 families or 580,876 individuals. A total of 13,788 families or 34,583 individuals were also staying in 348 evacuations.

Disaster response teams from the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) were conducting search, rescue and retrieval (SRR) operations in Leyte, Panay Island, Capiz, and Iloilo which are heavily affected by flooding and landslides.

“Marami pa pong areas na nakakaranas pa rin ng pag-ulan ngayon kahit nakaalis na si Agaton at may areas na flooded pa rin kaya ibayong pagiingat ang ipinapaalala natin sa mga kababayan natin (Rain and flood still persist in many areas even though Agaton already left so we remind the public to take precaution),” Timbal said.

“Kayo ay magpatuloy na sumunod at makipagugnayan sa ating local government units para sa mga gawaing pangkaligtasan. Iyong nasa evacuation centers, makakaasa pa kayo na patuloy ang assistance ng pamahalaan (Continue following and coordinating with local government units for safety precautions. Those in the evacuation centers, rest assured that the government will continue to send assistance to you),” he added.