MANILA, Philippines – Torrential rain brought by Tropical Storm Agaton, aggravated by the tail-end of the cold front, caused flooding in low-lying areas of Albay province.
Albay Public Safety Emergency and Management Office (Apsemo) Chief Cedric Daep ordered the local government units (LGUs) in 15 towns and 3 cities to enforce localized suspension of classes after non-stop rain caused waist to neck-deep flood in low-lying areas of the province.
At 3 pm, Bichara also ordered the evacuation of families living in areas vulnerable to landslides and floods. He also ordered local disaster risk reduction offices to strictly monitor other vulnerable areas "for appropriate and timely action for disaster avoidance."
Later in the evening, Daep called on an emergency meeting with local disaster officials to tackle disaster mitigation following the flood.
A composite team of government forces including the Tactical Operations Group 5-Philippine Air Force, the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Navy, and the Bureau of Fire Protection also enforced the evacuation of villagers affected by flooding in the province.
Below are some posts by netizens about the flooding in Albay:
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<iframe src="https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Frhovince.malagueno%2Fposts%2F1995151900706523&width=500" width="500" height="193" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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<iframe src="https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Fjorimori23%2Fposts%2F1292598927507480&width=500" width="500" height="683" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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<iframe src="https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Frrivac%2Fposts%2F10213627190501477&width=500" width="500" height="626" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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<iframe src="https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Fjennymatthew.ballaran%2Fposts%2F1445591052215937&width=500" width="500" height="626" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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<iframe src="https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Fkelvinjosephsacayan%2Fposts%2F1766339450065760&width=500" width="500" height="683" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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<iframe src="https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Frandolph.torre%2Fposts%2F1576607735728545&width=500" width="500" height="702" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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<iframe src="https://web.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2Fvammieey%2Fposts%2F2297039066988518&width=500" width="500" height="566" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>
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Albay has been known for its excellent disaster preparation and climate change adaptation programs introduced by former Albay Governor Joey Salceda. According to Salceda, in the past 2 decades since 2014, there were only two years when Albay had disaster-related deaths.
The former governor has attributed the record to local cooperation, maps, and social media. – with a report from Rhaydz Barcia/Rappler.com