537 families evacuate as ‘Ulysses’ exits over Zambales

By HENRY EMPEÑO | Iba, Zambales

HUNDREDS of families fled from flood-prone and low-lying areas in the province on Wednesday, Nov. 11, as Typhoon Ulysses made its exit over Zambales after wreaking havoc in Southern Luzon and parts of Metro Manila early Wednesday.

The Zambales Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (ZPDRRMC) said a total of 537 families consisting of 1,884 individuals relocated to higher grounds starting 7 p.m. on Wednesday, as the provincial government ordered pre-emptive evacuation in face of the oncoming typhoon.

Tropical cyclone Ulysses, which reportedly made a third landfall in Quezon province early Thursday and crossed over Central Luzon before exiting over Zambales thereafter, packed maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 255 km/h.

Members of the municipal disaster response unit chop down a fallen tree along the highway in Candelaria, as Typhoon Ulysses exited Zambales Thursday morning. (ZFTP photo)

Rolex Estella, head of the ZPDRRMC, said Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. ordered the pre-emptive evacuation especially in coastal barangays where residents lived in houses made of light materials.

The most number of evacuees—at a total of 444 families and 1,586 individuals—came from Sta. Cruz, the northernmost town of Zambales which has a large fishing community. A large number of them were housed at the Bolitoc Elementary School, with a total of 430 evacuees, and at Lipay High School, which took in 424 individuals.

Capitol personnel provide soup to young evacuees at Sitio Alao, San Juan , Botolan after residents fled to safer areas during the onslaught by Typhoon Ulysses (Photo from Zambales for the People page)

Estella said that aside from Sta. Cruz, nine other towns here reported minimal evacuation. These are Castillejos and Palauig, both with 26 families each; Botolan and San Narciso, with 10 families each; Subic, eight; Masinloc, seven; Cabangan, three; San Antonio, two; and San Marcelino, one.

Of the 537 evacuated families, 18 stayed outside evacuation centers or sought shelter with relatives, the ZPDRRMC also reported.

A police officer and a tricycle driver pull a GI-sheet roofing off the road in Iba, Zambales as community volunteers began cleaning up in the wake of Typhoon Ulysses (Photo by Iba LGU)

The weakened typhoon toppled trees and electric poles in various parts of the province, as shown in social media posts by local government units, but these were immediately removed by local disaster response units, said Estella.

Some parts of Zambales, however, are still without electricity as of this writing after power was cut off at past 2 a.m. early Thursday.

Estella added that all the roads in the province remained passable after the storm despite minimal flooding in some “perennial” flood-prone areas along the Zambales highway. ~

Members of the municipal disaster response unit move a fallen tree out of the way in San Marcelino, Zambales on Thursday morning (Photo above and top by San Marcelino PIO)

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