Families evacuated as Batanes, Cagayan expect strong winds due to Kiko

At least 32 individuals evacuated their residences in Batanes on Saturday morning in preparation for Typhoon Kiko, Batanes Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office officer-in-charge Roldan Esdicul said.

“Sa Sabtang po meron pong 26 na individwal ang inilikas para safer po. Tapos sa Basco, kagabi mayroon isa, at ngayong umaga po mayroong lima galing sa Barangay San Antonio at nasa barangay hall na po sila ngayon at safe naman po sila doon,” Esdicul said in an interview on Dobol B TV.

(In Sabtang, 26 individuals were evacuated while last night, in Basco there was one. This morning five individuals were evacuated from Barangay San Antonio and they are now in the barangay hall.)

The Batanes PDRRMO chief said they started experiencing strong winds at around 3 a.m.

“Sa forecast po ng PAGASA ay babagal kaya medyo lalaki po ang pinsala nito na inaasahan namin,” he said.

(According to PAGASA’s forecast showed that the typhoon slowing down. That’s why we expect major damage in our area.)

Esdicul likewise said that they focus their monitoring on the coastal area of Sabtang and Itbayat.

Cagayan

Meanwihle, heavy rains prevailed over Sta. Ana, Cagayan on Friday night, causing trees to topple down and shops to be damaged.

Residents living near the shore were also evacuated.

Several areas also lost electricity as Signal No. 3 was raised over the area.

No boats, meanwhile, were destroyed.

Kiko also brought strong winds in Calayan, where residents lost their electricity and cell phone signal.

Meanwhile, more than 30 families were evacuated in Baggao, including residents living in low-lying areas and near river channels.

The Cagayan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said almost 3,000 residents were rescued from 16 cities.

“68 na barangay ito at 16 na munisipalidad ‘yung nagkaroon ng paglilikas dahil nga sa mababaha ‘yung mga residente. ‘Yung ilan ay mga COVID-19 patient,” Digna Bingayen of the Cagayan PDRRMO, said.

The provincial government said there were no reported fatalities, injured, or missing individuals.

At 2 p.m., PAGASA maintained Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 4 over the northern portion of Batanes as Typhoon Kiko (international name: Chanthu) weakened further while crossing the coastal waters of Itbayat, Batanes.

Meanwhile, the rest of Batanes was placed under TCWS No. 3.

Heavy to intense with at times torrential rains are thus expected over Batanes in the next 24 hours, PAGASA said. — with Joahna Lei Casilao/DVM/MDM, GMA News