Over 10K Palaweños evacuated due to Odette threat —local exec

A total of 10,281 residents or 2,726 families in Palawan were staying in evacuation centers as Typhoon Odette moved towards the province on Friday, its provincial administrator said.

At the Laging Handa briefing, Palawan Provincial Administrator Atty. Jay Bolusa said Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez ordered a preemptive and forced evacuation to minimize Typhoon Odette's damage to properties and loss of life.

According to Bolusa, the Cagayancillo mayor reported that roofs were blown off from some houses when Odette's strong winds struck the municipality Friday morning.

Strong winds and rains were also felt in other municipalities, particularly in Dumaran, and earlier, residents in Taytay, Roxas and San Vicente were evacuated.

Bolusa said they received no reports of local authorities having difficulties in convincing residents for preemptive evacuation.

They also did not receive any report of distress, including accidents, from fisherfolks, after the provincial government issued a no-sail policy.

Bolusa added that Alvarez issued an executive order discouraging land travel in the province due to landslides.

The Palawan provincial administrator had directed the City Health Office to ensure the medical health of evacuees amid the threat of COVID-19, and administer COVID-19 shots to those unvaccinated, if possible.

Bolusa reported that the municipalities of Araceli, Agutaya, Cagayancillo, Cuyo and Puerto Princesa had power outages.

Bolusa said they already coordinated with the PDRRMO (Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office) for the repacking of food packs for relief operations.

Three areas in Luzon and the Visayas remained under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 3 on Friday morning as Typhoon Odette moved towards Palawan, state bureau PAGASA said. —LBG, GMA News