Gov. Espino stays at PDRRMC till Typhoon Glenda turns signal no. 1

LINGAYEN-Governor Amado T. Espino Jr. stayed the whole day at the Tactical Operations Center of the Pangasinan Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to oversee the operation of the PDRRMC staff and monitor the erratic movement of Typhoon Glenda which put Pangasinan under storm signal no. 3 today (July 16).

Governor Amado T. Espino (4th from left)

Governor Espino left PDRRMC at 5 pm just in time when PAGASA lowered the storm warning signal to category 1. The Typhoon headed towards the direction of the West Philippine Sea.

Although GIenda wrought havoc in some parts of the country, Pangasinan was spared from massive loss and damage

Even before the entry of Typhoon Glenda in the Philippine Area of Responsibility, Gov. Amado T. Espino, Jr. as chairman of the PDRRMC has already activated the disaster council to plan the emergency measures they will be undertaking in the event that Glenda lashes  Pangasinan.

Part of the PDRRMC's preparation to disaster response include the prepositioning of disaster rescue equipment in Lingayen, Tayug, Alaminos City, San Jacinto and Sta. Barbara.

Gov. Espino said that the province is also ready with some 2000 packs of relief goods for distribution to evacuation centers whenever necessary.

The governor has also sent an urgent advisory on pre-emptive evacuation to all local chief executives and to all Philippine National Police stations in the province.

The pre-emptive evacuation to ensure zero-casualty includes all residents along the three major rivers of Cayanga-Bued, Pantal-Sinocalan and Agno for possible flooding, the coastal areas in Western Pangasinan for possible storm surges and villages lying in hilly areas susceptible to flashfloods and landslides.

Towards this end, the PDRRMC has reported that 60 families or some 257 individuals living in the coastal areas of Dasol, Infanta and Sual towns have been brought to the designated evacuation centers for pre-emptive evacuation efforts.

Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Emil Samson, however, noted that some of the families in Infanta have returned to their homes.

The San Roque Power Corporation also reported that the water level as of 4:00 PM was listed at 234.03 meters above sea level which is 45.97 meters or way below the spilling level of 280 meters above sea level (masl).