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Holiday mood may have caused fewer evacuations for Seniang—NDRRMC


Fewer residents were preemptively evacuated before Tropical Cyclone Seniang hit the Visayas and Mindanao and the prevailing holiday mood could have been a factor, an official of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Wednesday.

NDRRMC executive director Undersecretary Alexander Pama said anticipation for the New Year's Eve celebration may have played a role why many residents refused to leave their homes but hastened to add that other factors must also be considered.
 
The NDRRMC's official casualty count due to Seniang was at 53 as of Wednesday noon. Its death toll in Super Typhoon Ruby's aftermath stood only at 19 as of Dec. 4.
 
“Maaring ganun nga, maaring ayaw nilang mag Media Noche sa evacuation centers, pero maari ring hindi nakapagpatupad ng early evacuation. Mahirap pa masabi sa ngayon,” Pama told GMA News Online over the phone.

Pama said fewer residents were preemptively evacuated from their homes before tropical storm Seniang battered parts of Visayas and Mindanao amid the agency's continuous warnings and advisories to the local government units.
 
“Yes, our record shows na mas konti ang nag-evacuate ngayon. Ayaw pa nating magbigay ng conclusion sa ngayon kung bakit nagkaganun. It's up to the local government units to explain kung bakit mas konti ang kanilang nailikas,” Pama said.

Based on the NDRRMC's record a total of only 5,046 families were preemptively evacuated to 79 evacuation centers in the affected regions Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao region and CARAGA.
 
This figure is comparably lower than the 124,177 families or 616,550 individuals evacuated in preparation for Typhoon Ruby which also hits the Visayas and Mindanao regions early December.
 
Seniang, which had winds of 65 kph near the center with gusts of 80 kph, officially caused more deaths than Typhoon Ruby that hit Eastern Visayas and nearby provinces in early December.
 
Ruby, which was even compared to Super Typhoon Yolanda, had winds of more than 200 kph and gustiness of more than 260 kph.
 
Seniang's heavy rainfall did most of the damage as it caused floods and landslides.
 
“On our part, hindi naman tayo nagkulang sa pagbibigay ng babala at ulat sa ating mga LGUs. Isa-isa namin tinawagan ang bawat provincial and municipal government na, based sa forecast ng PAGASA, ay tatamaan ni Seniang," Pama said.

"Nung weekend pa lang ay sinabihan na natin sila na ilikas na ang mga residente sa low-lying and flashflood and landslide-prone areas,” he added..
 
Pama, however, stressed that Seniang should not be compared to Ruby, which was forecast to be a super typhoon even before entering the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).
 
“Yung sa Ruby kasi, it was categorized early on as super typhoon, so mas naging puspusan talaga ang paghahanda ng mga LGUs and other government agencies," Pama said.

"Pero now is not the right time para magsisihan, hindi naman maganda na Bagong Taon na Baong Taon ay magtuturuan tayo. Siguro, abangan nalang natin ang paliwanag ng mga LGUs sa mga susunod na araw,” he added. —with a report from Joel Locsin/VC/NB, GMA News

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