JAPAN TSUNAMI CAUSES PHILIPINES MASSIVE COASTAL RESIDENTS EVACUATION

MANILA, Philippine - Following a warning that tsunami would occur simultaneously in 19 provinces on the eastern side of the Philippines that face the Pacific Ocean, a massive evacuation of coastal residents from northern Luzon to the southern Philippines began Friday.
Alert level two has been raised in 19 provinces from northern Luzon to the southern Philippines. Tsunami on the entire length of the country's east coast facing the Pacific Ocean could occur between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

• "Do not be hard-headed," said Philippine President Benigno Aquino from Singapore, adding that residents should obey the orders of local government and disaster officials to leave coastal areas and stay away more than 10 metres from the shore.
• Aquino convened a disaster management meeting through a teleconference from his hotel room in Singapore's Shangri-la Hotel.

The endangered Philippine provinces that face the Pacific Ocean were identified as Batanes Group of Islands, Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, and Isabela, in northern Luzon; Quezon and Aurora, in southern Luzon; Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Catanduanes, and Sorsogon in southern Luzon's Bicol Region; Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur in central Philippines; Davao Oriental, and Davao del Sur in the southern Philippines, Solidum said.

• More than 20 villages in each of the provinces mentioned could be hit by tsunami, and displace about a million people, said National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) head Benito Ramos.
• Fishermen were told not to go to the sea. Seaports prevented sea voyages. Small boats were brought inland. But big ships were secured on the ports, said Ramos, adding that local government officials and the NDRRMC jointly prepared for simultaneous tsunami on 19 Philippine provinces.
• Local government officials have brought out amphibian boats to prepare for rescue operations after the occurrence of tsunami, Ramos said.

Local government officials began coordinating with local government officials in other countries where tsunami was scheduled to occur before hitting the Philippines.
Guam, Taiwan, the Marshall Islands, the Marianas Islands, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Micronesia, Hawaii, and Russia were also placed under tsunami watch, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.

Source: Agency