Overall Situation
• On May 10, the Low Pressure Area east of Mindanao developed into Tropical Depression Ambo. It moved northwestward over the Philippine Sea east of Mindanao.
• On May 11, TD Ambo slightly intensified while it moved slowly westward over the Philippine Sea. It maintained its strength while it moved slowly northwestward. TD Ambo maintained its strength while it remained almost stationary over the Philippine Sea. It intensified into a Tropical Storm.
• On May 13, TS Ambo further intensified while it moved north-northwestward over the Philippine Sea east of Samar Island. It maintained it strength as it moved northwestward over the Philippine Sea east of Samar Island. TS Ambo intensified into a Severe Tropical Storm while moving west-northwestward. It rapidly intensified into a typhoon.
• On May 14, Typhoon Ambo further intensified and moved closer to Northern Samar. It further intensified and threatened the Eastern Samar-Northern Samar Area. Typhoon Ambo made landfall over San Policarpo, Eastern Samar and moved towards the northern portion of Samar province. It maintained it strength as it continued to move over the northern portion of Samar province. Typhoon Ambo weakened after crossing the Samar Island and crossed over the Ticao Pass.
• On May 15, Typhoon Ambo crossed Dalupiri, Capul, and Ticao Islands and approached Burias Island. It made landfall over Burias Island and continued to weaken. Typhoon Ambo maintains is strength and has made landfall over San Andres, Quezon.
• The eyewall region of Typhoon Ambo is bringing destructive winds and heavy to intense rainfall over Bondoc Peninsula in Southern Quezon and Burias Island. It has maximum sustained winds of 125 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 165 km/h.
• The following areas are placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 3: Western portion of Camarines Sur, extreme western portion of Camarines Norte, Burias Island, Marinduque, eastern portion of Quezon, and the eastern portion of Laguna.
• The following areas are placed under Signal No. 2: Southeastern portion of Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Batangas, the rest of Laguna, the rest of Quezon, western portion of Masbate including Ticao Island, the rest of Camarines Norte, the rest of Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, southern part of Catanduanes, and the eastern portion of Romblon.
• The following areas are placed under Signal No. 1: Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Isabela, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, the rest of Pangasinan, Apayao, Kalinga, Abra, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Zambales, Bataan, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, the rest of Catanduanes, the rest of Masbate, the rest of Romblon, extreme northeastern portion of Capiz, northestern portion of Ilioilo, and the western portion of Northern Samar. (Source: PAGASA)
Reports on Affected Populations
• Government official said physical distancing will be practiced “per family” in evacuation centers. This means families are to stay at least 1 meter apart from other families while in temporary shelters.
• 141,700 people were forced into cramped shelters, compounding the nation’s battle with COVID-19. Authorities have said they will run shelters at half of capacity, provide masks to people who don’t have them, and try to keep families grouped together.
• Many spaces normally used as storm shelters have been converted into quarantine sites for people suspected of being infected with COVID-19. Fortunately, Eastern Samar is not one if the hotspots of the Philippines’ outbreak, which has seen more that 11,800 infected and 790 dead.
• It is not unheard of for disasters to overlap in the Philippines, and some 22,000 people were evacuated from the slopes of the active Mayon Volcano ahead of the typhoon’s arrival. (Source: Rappler)
Emergency Response Efforts
• On May 15, CDRC started releasing its Situation Reports.
Resources Available
• Standby emergency funds
• Prepositioned goods at the CDRC warehouse
Expressed Needs
• Immediate needs of the survivors include food, water, clothes, hygiene kits, medicines, masks, and sleeping materials.
Coordination
Regional Center
• Southern Tagalog People’s Response Center (STPRC)
• Leyte Center for Development (LCDE)
• Tarabang para sa Bicol (TABI)
Contacts
• Kim Augiline Leduna, Executive Director, (insert cellphone number), info@cdrc-phil.com
• Malen Serato, Field Operations Department, 0916-499-1410, fod@cdrc-phil.com
• Hanna Fiel, Research and Public Information Department, 0945-8355589, hanna.fiel.cdrc2019@gmail.com
• Cora Jazmines, Local Partnerships Department, 0949-845-1271, lpd@cdrc-phil.com