Residents evacuate in Northern Luzon over tsunami threat
Following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that rocked Taiwan, residents in coastal communities in Northern Luzon were evacuated due to the threat of a tsunami, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) bared on Wednesday, April 3.
According to the OCD, a pre-emptive evacuation was conducted in Pagudpud and Currimao in Ilocos Norte in Region 1.
Meanwhile, the Cagayan Valley (Region 2) Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council “strongly advised” concerned local DRRMC chairpersons through their local DRRM offices to conduct immediate evacuation of residents in coastal areas to the higher ground or move farther inland.
“We strongly remind the residents near the coastal areas to monitor the situation and do not stay in low-lying areas,” the OCD noted.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) earlier issued a tsunami alert after Taiwan was hit by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake at 7:58 a.m.
It advised residents in Batanes Group of Islands, Cagayan, Ilcoos Norte and Isabela to evacuate immediately or move to higher grounds or farther inland as part of safety precautions.
The tsunami warning has largely passed around three hours later.
The OCD has yet to determine how many residents from the two regions were pre-emptively evacuated.