Aghon brings rains; stranded passengers, power outage reported

Tropical Depression Aghon brought rains to several areas overnight in Eastern Samar and nearby provinces and authorities reported some passengers were stranded and power went out in some places.

"As of last night, we have around 600 individuals [who were stranded] in various ports of Eastern Visayas, and a small number of rolling cargoes [which were also stranded]," Office of Civil Defense - Region 8 Director Lord Byron Torrecarion said in an interview on Saturday on Dobol B TV.

Torrecarion also said sea travel going into Region 8 was stopped on Friday night.

"As of last night, we issued 'yung stop ng sea travel going into Region 8... This is to prevent 'yung build-up ng mga stranded passenger especially those coming from Mindanao," he said.

Some municipalities in Southern Leyte, Eastern Samar, and Western Samar have already implemented preventive evacuation of residents in flood-prone and landslide-prone areas, Torrecarion added.

"As of last night also, nag-issue na rin ng preventive evacuation 'yung some municipalities in Southern Leyte as well as those in Eastern Samar and then Western Samar," he said.

"As of last night, around 600 individuals ang inilikas... It is an ongoing figure... This is throughout the region," he added.

Torrecarion said they are trying to put the evacuees in evacuation centers first before considering schools as added venues.

As of Saturday morning, there were around 15,000 food packs on stand-by in the region care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, he said.

Aghon crossed Homonhon Island and made landfall in the vicinity of Giporlos in Eastern Samar early Saturday morning, PAGASA reported.

Region 8 is already on red alert. Charlie protocol, the highest state of readiness in terms of response, is also in effect as a result of the pre-disaster risk assessment (PDRA) on Friday, he added.

Heavy rains poured in Eastern Samar on Friday, Torrecarion said.

"Dito sa Tacloban, it's a bit cloudy to me and hindi ganu'n kalakas 'yung ulan but we deployed our comms team in coordination with the PDRRM of Eastern Samar. Yesterday afternoon they were reporting na heavy rains po doon," he said.

"So far we haven't received reports of flooding yet but we are monitoring especially [since] we have the highest number of barangays that are prone to landslide," he added.

"We have around 475 [landslide-prone areas] throughout the region. Most of those are in Eastern Samar and Northern Samar which as you know are among those na malapit na daraanan ng bagyo," Torrecarion said.

The hazard-prone areas, in partnership with local government units, have been tagged as no-build zones, he added.

"Malakas ang mga naging pag-ulan. Nag-subside kaagad ang pagbaha. Na-absorb ng lupa ang tubig," Engr. Thomas Campomanes, head of the Eastern Samar Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said in a separate interview on Dobol B TV.

A landslide occurred in the municipality of San Julian in Eastern Samar, but authorities were able to clear the area and it is now passable, he said.

Meanwhile, the centermost area of Eastern Samar experienced power outage, Campomanes said.

"'Yung walang kuryente ay sa centermost mismo ng Eastern Samar," including Borongan and MacArthur, he said.  'Yung mga nasa north at south, mayroon silang kuryente. Ayon sa electric cooperative namin, mga 10 am, mare-restore na ang kuryente."

Legazpi, Masbate, Sorsogon

In Legazpi City as well as in Masbate and Sorsogon, rains continued to pour on Saturday morning, according to OCD Region 5 spokesperson Gremil Naz in an interview on Dobol B TV.

Preparations for Aghon were already laid out by the region starting Thursday, he said.

Authorities are monitoring 1,128 barangays at risk for rain-induced landslides, he added.

No flooding and evacuation have so far been reported yet, Naz said.

Aghon maintained its strength while over the coastal waters of Catbalogan City, Samar early Saturday, and 18 areas were placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1 as of 5 a.m., PAGASA reported. —KG, GMA Integrated News