52K CamSur residents evacuated due to ‘Ulysses’

PILI, Camarines Sur--- Emergency response personnel with the assistance of police personnel in the province has evacuated more than 12,000 families as Typhoon “Ulysses” flooded many towns just as residents were recovering from super typhoon “Rolly” that devastated the Bicol region on Nov. 1.

Estel Estropia, information officer of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) in Camarines Sur, told Bicol Mail that as of Nov. 12, Thursday, there were 12,935 families or 52,021 individuals in the province were evacuated.

She said there are 235 barangays in many of the towns in the province were affected by flooding due to heavy rains brought by the typhoon.

Residents of Barangay La Purisima in Tinambac town were flooded as the sea water from San Miguel Bay reached the area when the typhoon hovered for quite sometime in nearby Siruma town in the afternoon of Nov 11.

EVACUATION. Residents in Barangay Malubago in Sipocot, Camarines Sur are evacuated to safer ground as flood rises due to Typhooon “Ulysses.” PHOTO COURTESY: EDMERO CamSur

Based from the Bicol River Basin Flood Forecasting Center bulletin issued by the Philippine Atmospheric and Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), low lying areas in the towns of Baao, Bula, Pili, Minalabac, Milaor, and San Fernando, all in Camarines Sur, were flooded due to the rise in the water elevation of Ombao River.

Some areas in the towns of Camaligan, Bombon, Magarao, Canaman, Gainza, Pamplona, Calabanga, and Naga City were also not spared from flooding as the water level of the Bicol River rose up due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon “Ulysses”.

The rise in the water level in Sipocot River also caused flood in some areas in Cabusao, Libmanan, and Sipocot towns.

Estropia, said augmentation teams for clearing operations were deployed along the National Highway leading to towns of Cabusao, Libmanan, Minalabac, Lagonoy, Bula, and Bato.

Prior to Nov. 1, the Camarines Sur PDRRMC evacuated some 19,811 families or 75,900 individuals due to super Typhoon “Rolly.”