Visayas regions tackle Yolanda

CEBU, Philippines - The three regions in the Visayas were prepared for any eventuality as typhoon Yolanda, the strongest to hit this year, entered the Philippines' area of responsibility yesterday afternoon and made a landfall in Eastern Visayas this morning.

E. Visayas preps

In Tacloban City, about 5,000 residents from coastal areas yesterday were forcibly evacuated to pre-established evacuation centers, while the city government have readied rescue boats and groups and has been monitoring the situation over the past two days.

Personnel of DPWH-Leyte have cut off branches of trees along the road in coastal towns. Farmers had to harvest rice earlier since Wednesday to spare their crops from getting damaged by Yolanda.

The Leyte provincial government had started preparations since two days ago, and had tapped the regional police and the military to be ready for search and rescue operations.

Governor Dominic Petilla asked the NFA to use its warehouse as one of the evacuation centers, along with buildings inside the Police Regional Office-8 and the newly constructed Convention Center in Brgy. Candahug of Palo town in Leyte.

Palo Mayor Matin Petilla, for her part, manned the forced evacuation of residents from the coastal areas yesterday.

In Borongan City, Eastern Samar, preemptive evacuation, cancellation of school classes and works in government offices were carried out yesterday.

CDRRMC official Jaime Boses said evacuees were already housed in two public school buildings yesterday afternoon, after Mayor Fe Abunda visited the sites to check on their readiness for more evacuation.

Abunda said an initial 100 sacks of rice were readied for relief distribution at the evacuation centers in the city. (FREEMAN)