The Philippine National Police (PNP) said there was difficulty with evacuating residents in areas at risk of being affected by Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-wong).
Uwan whipped many parts of Luzon over the weekend, leaving at least two individuals dead, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
Asked about the evacuation efforts ahead of the typhoon’s landfall, in a press briefing in Camp Crame on Monday, PNP community relations deputy director Brig. Gen. Vina Guzman said, ‘We had a bit of a problem with our citizens.’
‘Perhaps, they were not immediately convinced of the typhoon’s strength, so they had doubts about leaving their respective residences,’ she added.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the PNP may enforce mandatory evacuations for residents who refuse to leave high-risk areas ahead of the typhoon’s landfall.
For his part, in an interview over ANC’s Headstart earlier on Monday, DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla claimed Visayas and Mindanao residents were not as accustomed to evacuation orders as Luzon residents since fewer typhoons crossed there.
‘That’s why their state of readiness and mental preparation is not as accustomed as people in the north. Hopefully, Typhoon Tino became a learning lesson for Cebu residents that, when they’re told to evacuate, they should evacuate,’ Remulla said.
Before the onset of Uwan, Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi) devastated the central Philippines early last week.
Cebu was the province hit hardest by the cyclone, with 141 reported dead, 57 missing, and 123 injured as of Saturday, based on Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) data.
‘I hope our countrymen follow when their barangay captains tell them to evacuate because many are afraid to leave their properties and don’t leave,’ Remulla said.
Uwan made landfall as a super typhoon over Dinalungan, Aurora on Sunday night.
The cyclone weakened into a typhoon on Monday morning and was last spotted 135 kilometers (km) west-northwest of Bacnotan, La Union at 10 a.m.
Uwan was packing maximum sustained winds of up to 130 km per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 160 kph while moving west-northwest at 20 kph.