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DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/22 December) – A preemptive evacuation in Marilog District was carried out Friday while residents in communities along Davao and Lasang Rivers were advised to evacuate after torrential rains brought by tropical storm “Vinta” caused both rivers to swell.
In a phone interview on Friday, Lyndon Leovic Ancajas, administrative officer of Davao City Central 911 said the preemptive evacuation started at around 12 noon Friday hours after “Vinta” made landfall in Cateel, Davao Oriental.
He said they were monitoring other major rivers – Bunawan River and Lipadas River – as the city was placed under tropical cyclone warning signal no. 1 along with several other provinces of Mindanao.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office has yet to release number of families who were evacuated.
A press release issued by the City Information Office said all barangay-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Management units along the Davao River have been advised to sound the sirens to signal preemptive evacuation.
In a separate interview, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 11 spokesperson Carmela Duron said the agency prepared 40,000 food packs on top of the 2,000 packs which have already been positioned all over the region.
She said the agency has P3 million standby budget for affected families.
The DSWD 11’s 24/7 quick response team has been mobilized.
At 2 p.m. Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said that “Vinta” had weakened and was moving toward Misamis Occidental-Zamboanga del Norte area.
It added that the center of the tropical storm was spotted within Marawi City at 1p.m. with maximum sustained winds of 65kph near the center and gustiness of up to 110 kph. (Antonio L. Colina IV 1/ MindaNews)