Thousands of Albay residents flee homes, as Dante threat looms

MANILA—Thousands of people in Albay have fled their homes ahead of tropical storm Dante, an official said Wednesday.

Evacuation began Tuesday afternoon in various towns, especially areas facing the Pacific Ocean, said Cedric Daep, chief of Albay public safety and emergency management office.

"Sa ngayon baka mag-decamp sila. Titingnan pa namin ang next (weather) bulletin kung talagang safe na ang province of Albay," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

(We might decamp now. We'll see after the next bulletin if the province is really safe.)

• Tropical Storm Dante makes 2nd landfall over Masbate

Evacuation centers can only house half of its capacity, and evacuees must observe health protocols prior to entry, according to Daep, who added that residents from the same purok or barangay are housed within the same facility.

The province also suspended work and mall operations as residents tend to troop to malls if the former were halted, he added.

The country's fourth storm this year is forecast to make a third landfall over Romblon and head to Oriental Mindoro if it continues to move westward, PAGASA said. 

It will remain a tropical storm until it makes another landfall before weakening into a tropical depression, it added.

• Ilang taga-Caramoan, naghahanda na sa Bagyong Dante