Tens of thousands fleeing as Philippines prepares for typhoon Ruby to make land fall
Manila (AsiaNews) - Tens of thousands of people are fleeing the eastern and northern provinces of Samar as super-typhoon Hagupit heads towards the Philippines.
The storm, known locally as Ruby, is expected to smash into the Visayas, which were hit last year by typhoon Yolanda.
The Catholic Church has called on the faithful to be ready and on parishes to open their doors to refugees. It has also urged the government to evacuate the areas likely affected.
The latest update from Filipino weather authorities shows that Ruby was weakening slightly, though it still had powerful gusts of up to 230 kilometres per hour.
Local residents, many of them still living in temporary shelters since Yolanda last year, are moving away from coastal areas but without any clear indication as to where. In fact, despite the emergency, the government has not indicated any safe areas.
President Benigno Aquino, who met disaster agency chiefs on Friday afternoon, has ordered food supplies to be sent to affected areas, as well as deployed military troops and police.
Local media reported him as saying there was "no indication" for now that Ruby would be as strong as last year's typhoon.
Schools and government offices are closed in some areas as heavy rain increase the risk of landslides.
In Tacloban, people remain in high spirits.
"It's deja vu, but not the same as last year with Haiyan," a local resident told the BBC.
"We're already prepared . . . we've stored basic commodities - water, rice, beans, fuel. We're also prepared in case of a power cut."
"We intend to stay," he added. "We survived last year; we will do it again tomorrow. We will still stand our ground because no calamities can break us apart."
.png)
09/12/2014
03/07/2017 14:05
