‘Uwan’ batters Bicol and Luzon

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary and NDRRMC Chairperson Gilberto Teodoro Jr. appealed to residents in areas threatened by Uwan to comply with evacuation orders, emphasizing that forced evacuations may be implemented where voluntary compliance is low.

- 

“We have received numerous reports that our fellow citizens are being encouraged to carry out preemptive evacuation but many are refusing to comply. Therefore, forced evacuation will be implemented in various areas where it is still feasible,” he said.

Teodoro said that delaying evacuation could endanger not only the residents’ lives but also those of rescue personnel.

“If we wait until it's too late, requesting rescue would put the lives of our police officers, soldiers, firefighters, and coast guard at risk,” Teodoro said.

The NDRRMC chief warned that failure to follow evacuation orders during a forced evacuation could be considered disobedience to a person in authority, which carries legal consequences.

“Now, I do not want to sound threatening but if there is an order for forced evacuation from our police and it is not followed, it would be against the law and considered disobedience to a person in authority,” Teodoro said.

“We do not want it to come to that because we are protecting lives here. Therefore, we urge everyone, despite the many reports of people refusing to evacuate, to comply. Doing so can save your life and the lives of your family, and it ensures that we do not put at risk the lives of our police officers and rescue personnel,” he noted.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said a total of 270,682 families or 916,863 individuals sought safe shelter ahead of Uwan’s impact in Ilocos (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4A), Mimaropa (Region 4B), Bicol (Region 5), Western Visayas (Region 6), Central Visayas (Region 7), and Eastern Visayas (Region 8).

A total of 6,775 families or 10,696 individuals have already been affected in Bicol Region and Northern Mindanao (Region 10) as of 8 a.m.