NDRRMC: Over 45K people on Odette's path evacuated so far

A total of 45,383 people or 12,237 families have been preemptively evacuated so far due to Typhoon Odette's threat, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Thursday.

In NDRRMC's the latest report, evacuations were reported in Eastern Visayas, which reported a landslide incident, and in Caraga region in Mindanao.

On the other hand, a total of 3,891 passengers, 1,745 rolling cargoes, 22 vessels, and three motorbancas were stranded in Calabarzon, Bicol, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Caraga, the NDRRMC said.

Thirty-six ports were reported non-operational or have suspended trips, of which, 10 have resumed in Bicol.

So far, two areas experienced power interruption or outage. A domestic flight was also canceled.

According to the NDRRMC, 149 areas suspended classes, and 179 suspended work schedules in Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, and Caraga.

Interviewed on GMA News’ Unang Balita NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said no major untoward incident has been reported yet due to Odette.

“Ang maganda po nakapagsagawa ng preemptibe evacuation actiovities ang ating mga kasamahan sa local government,” he said.

(The good thing is local governments have been conducting preemptive evacuation.)

Aside from the search and rescue teams from local governments, the NDRRMC said the council also has more than 2,000 teams that will conduct operations on the ground.

In Surigao City, strong winds with rains have been experienced since Wednesday evening, according to a report of GMA News Stringer James Paolo Yap.

Elsewhere, some residents have been evacuated in Capiz in the Visayas, while some passengers were stranded in Sorsogon in the Bicol region.

According to a report of Bam Alegre, the Gingoog River in Misamis Oriental swelled, prompting nearby residents to flee their homes.

Strong rains were felt in Basilisa, Dinagat Islands, while also strong rains and huge waves were encountered in Butuan City.

In Surigao del Norte, strong winds and rains were also felt, according to a report of GMA News Stringer Natz Corbeta.

Due to the threat of storm surge, the local government imposed forced evacuation of residents in coastal areas.

In Liloan, Southern Leyte, continuous rains were experienced overnight while gusts were felt on Thursday morning, according to a report by Cedric Castillo.

Forced evacuation was also conducted in Barangay Poblacion.

In Sorsogon, a long line of stranded vehicles spanned a stretch reaching four barangays due to week-long bad weather due to Amihan and compounded Odette's effects, according to a report of GMA News Stringer Don Gloriane.

Continuous strong rains and winds were experienced overnight.

At 7 a.m., Odette was located at 265 kilometers east of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte packing maximum sustained winds of 165 km per hour and gustiness of up to 205 km/h, and central pressure of 950 hPa, PAGASA said. —LBG, GMA News