City downgrades to ‘Blue Alert’ as Typhoon Uwan moves away

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

The Iloilo City government downgraded its alert status on Typhoon Uwan after the storm brought only intermittent heavy rains and strong winds earlier this week.

Mayor Raisa Treñas, chairperson of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC), issued a memorandum on Nov. 10 announcing the downgrade to all vice chairpersons, cluster leads, barangay DRRM committees, and the general public.

She cited Tropical Cyclone Bulletin (TCB) No. 17 from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), issued at 8 a.m. on Monday.

The bulletin indicated that the typhoon had moved toward the West Philippine Sea as of 5 a.m., located 125 kilometers west-northwest of Bacnotan, La Union, moving at 20 kilometers per hour.

A later update, TCB No. 18 issued at 11 a.m., showed the typhoon at 135 kilometers west-northwest of Bacnotan, maintaining the same speed.

While issuing the downgrade, Treñas reiterated the importance of continuous monitoring and timely reporting of developments by all DRRM units.

During a briefing Monday afternoon, Darwin Papa, chief of the Disaster Response Division of the Iloilo City DRRM Office, said 668 families or 2,069 individuals from 20 barangays were preemptively evacuated to 23 evacuation centers.

He added that 427 other evacuation centers remained on standby, along with food and non-food items ready for immediate deployment if needed.

The city reported nine damaged homes, including seven totally destroyed and two partially damaged, with further validation ongoing by the City Social Welfare and Development Office.

PHP16.9 million for post-Tino relief

Papa said the city recommended PHP16.9 million from its Quick Response Fund (QRF) to be allocated for post-Typhoon Tino relief efforts.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the allocation during a virtual emergency session on Nov. 7 based on the CDRRMC’s recommendation.

Approved fund allocations include:

• 1 million for shelter materials;
• PHP2 million for food prepositioning;
• PHP165,000 for chlorine;
• PHP900,000 for generators;
• PHP150,000 for collapsible cages;
• PHP10,000 for dog supplements;
• PHP100,000 for vegetable seeds;
• PHP2 million for medicines;
• PHP300,000 for solar fixtures/lights;
• PHP600,000 for tower and rescue lights;
• 5 million for communications equipment;
• PHP100,000 for other supplies and materials.

Despite zero casualties and minimal flooding, Tino left considerable damage, with 125 homes destroyed and 1,865 partially damaged, according to the CDRRMC’s Situation Report No. 12 as of 8 p.m. Saturday.

Papa said the budget also covers communication equipment repairs, which were necessary due to damage from strong winds.

He added that the city still has sufficient QRF resources for future disaster response and relief operations.