Philippine villagers flee after tsunami report
A report that a metre-high tsunami would hit the northern Philippines after a strong earthquake rocked Taiwan on Tuesday night sent villagers in coastal towns of Pangasinan, Cagayan and Batanes fleeing to higher ground.
In Pangasinan, Fred Castelo, chairman of the municipal disaster coordinating council of Bolinao town, said the council was immediately mobilised as residents were already panicking after they heard radio and television reports warning of the possibility that a tsunami would hit. Castelo said Bolinao mayor Alfonso Celeste and officials of the provincial disaster coordinating council asked him to inform the heads of coastal villages to evacuate the residents to higher ground at 9pm on Tuesday. He said it was easy convincing people to evacuate because most of them were aware of the dangers that big waves could bring. The town was hit by big waves in 1979, destroying many houses in coastal areas. Castelo said the people went home when the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology announced at 11pm that no tsunami would hit any part of the country.
Philippine Daily Inquirer Asia News Network Dagupan City
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