Bicol evacuation starts as’Tisoy’ barrels in

Preemptive evacuations already commenced in Catanduanes island and in the provinces of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon. #TyphoonTisoy #Kammuri #evacuation

Tisoy's location as of 6:30 p.m. Monday, 2 December 2019. (PAGASA)

Local and regional authorities have ordered the preemptive evacuation of thousands of residents in coastal towns expected to be directly hit by “Typhoon Tisoy,” the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Monday.

“Many preemptive evacuations are being done especially in Bicol. For the other regions, there are some but still minimal,” NDRRMC executive director Ricardo Jalad said in a text message to reporters.

Preemptive evacuations already commenced in Catanduanes island and in the provinces of Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon as the state weather bureau PAGASA raised public storm alerts.

Jalad stressed that the government has a zero casualty goal for the onset of the said weather disturbance.

“Yes, zero casualty and we can attain that with preemptive evacuation because we can no longer remove houses in flood prone areas. So, it’s the people we have to transfer,” he said. “We’re optimistic we can achieve this. Hopefully the LGUs (local government units) will also allot more time for the preemptive evacuation for us to really attain this.”

Meanwhile, classes in all levels and work in the Bicol region as well as arriving and departing flight had been cancelled due to the typhoon.

Sea travel is also not allowed as Tisoy is expected to cause a storm surge up to 3 meters high.

More than 5,000 passengers are stranded in different ports as sailing was suspended as a precautionary measure.