EMERGENCY response teams set off for the preemptive evacuation of residents in the lakeside communities in Buhi, Camariñes Sur. — GOV MIGZ VILLAFUERTE FB PAGE

ABOUT 68,500 people remained in evacuation facilities Monday as typhoon Bising maintained its strength, dumping rains and bringing strong winds in eastern parts of the country, according to the national disaster management council. In its April 19 report, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRM) said 18,467 families consisting of 68,490 people were preemptively evacuated in the regions of Bicol and Eastern Visayas. Several road sections were also affected while flooding was reported in at least 22 communities in the two regions, NDRRMC said. Typhoon warning signal #2 was still up in parts of the Bicol provinces of Catanduanes, Camariñes Sur, Albay, and Sorsogon as well as in the Samar, provinces in Eastern Visayas, based on the Monday 5 p.m. bulletin of state weather bureau PAGASA. Signal #1, meanwhile, was raised in parts of the provinces of Cagayan Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Quezon, and Camariñes Norte, Biliran, Leyte, and the northern portion of Cebu. As of 4:00 p.m. Monday, Bising, (international name: Surigae), was located 500 kilometers (kms) east of Infanta, Quezon and slowly moving in a northwest direction, according to PAGASA. The typhoon was packing maximum sustained winds of 195 km per hour (km/h) near the center and gustiness of up to 240 km/h. Bising is expected to be 465 kms east of Baler, Aurora by Tuesday afternoon. PAGASA warned of continued “rough to very rough” seas in the eastern seaboard within the next 24 hours.  More than 2,200 passengers were stranded in various ports while 896 rolling cargoes and 61 vessels were prohibited from sailing.

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