'NANDO' evacuees in Ilocos Norte. (INPPO FB)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – A total of 211 families or 668 individuals in the Ilocos region evacuated as of 11 a.m. Monday due to the threat of super typhoon "Nando," the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) said.
OCD Regional Director Laurence Mina said the evacuations included 58 families (188 individuals) from Barangay Mindoro, Bangar, La Union; 135 families (417 individuals) from Bacarra and Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte; and 18 families (63 individuals) from Balungao, Pangasinan.
Mina said the preemptive evacuation was initiated by the Ilocos Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Evacuation centers have been prepared with hygiene kits and medical supplies, in coordination with the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare and Development regional offices.
Mina urged local government units to implement forced evacuation if needed, especially if the super typhoon is imminent.
“Marami pa din kasi hindi sumusunod sa preemptive evacuation (There are still many who do not follow the preemptive evacuation),” he said.
He added rescue teams and assets have also been prepositioned and some deployed.
Marie Angela Gopalan, DSWD-Ilocos regional director, said a total of 106,001 family food packs, 4,725 ready-to-eat food packs, and 10,622 non-food items, with a total value of P96.4 million, are prepositioned in 19 warehouses across the region.
The agency also has P3 million in standby funds.
“The warehouses were fully replenished and ready to augment the local government units,” she said.
DOH-Ilocos Regional Director Paula Paz Sydiongco said medical supplies, hygiene kits, potable water, and nutrition kits are also ready.
Meanwhile, Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office emergency operations head Pia Flores said they are monitoring river systems and dam levels as Nando is expected to bring 50 to 100 millimeters of rain to the province.
Flores urged residents in flood- and landslide-prone areas to evacuate early and not wait for floodwaters to rise.