Over 7,000 villages nationwide are identified to be prone to landslides and flooding due to Typhoon Tino’s (international name: Kalmaegi) wide diameter of around 600 kilometers, Office of Civil Defense spokesperson Junie Castillo said on Monday.
Castillo said this data is from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB).
‘Early noon, they (DENR-MGB) reported that more than 7,000 villages in the entire Philippines are advised that they are under those lists of rain-induced landslides and flooding. This 7,864 [villages] to be exact,’ Castillo said in an interview.
Also due to its wide diameter, Tino is already affecting large areas in Visayas despite being far from landmass, according to him.
Meanwhile, Castillo said forced evacuation is also in effect in Eastern Visayas’ coastal areas due to storm surge.
‘They should evacuate until this afternoon because at night, the winds will get stronger, and, of course, they are on the shores so the threat of storm surge should be taken care of,’ he said.
OCD has yet to report any casualties.
Tino was last spotted 235 kilometers east-southeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, and gustiness of up to 150 kph while moving westward at 25 kph, according to Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).
Tino is then forecast to remain a typhoon until it exits the Philippine area of responsibility on Thursday morning.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4 in two areas due to Tino.