malaysiang
Iloilo: The local government here has encouraged private and public institutions in Iloilo City to shorten their working hours as a precautionary measure against Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami).
‘While suspension of work for private and public offices is left to the discretion of management, shortening of office hours or operations is encouraged to ensure public safety,’ acting Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon said in Executive Order 146 released noontime Friday.
Tropical Cyclone Bulletin 26, released by the state weather bureau at 1 a.m., showed Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 has been lifted in Iloilo but remains hoisted over the northern portion of Aklan, particularly the towns of Buruanga, Malay, Nabas, and Ibajay, and the northern portion of Antique in areas of the municipalities of Libertad, Pandan, and Caluya Islands.
Available data from the City Social Welfare and Development Office as of noon showed that the weather disturbance affected 3,497 individuals and damaged 569 houses.
T
he emergency operations center also recorded several concerns, like fallen trees and electric posts.
More Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) System Operations Manager Engineer Fil Sonza Jr., in an interview, said they deployed 19 teams this morning while separate teams would be deployed Friday night to respond to complaints of power interruption.
‘While we are not directly hit by Kristine, the gustiness of wind at somewhere 60 to 80 kilometers per hour causes trees to sway and for foreign objects to come into contact with our primary lines, causing the outage,’ Sonza said, adding that other fallen trees have affected their distribution lines.
He assured consumers that amid the inclement weather, their teams are trying their best to troubleshoot their complaints based on prioritization, with vital installations on top of the priority list.
‘Our helpline is 24/7 to cater for the calls of our customers. Our team leaders at the systems and network operations have augmented to check our facilities,’ he adde
d.
Ganzon visited the control center of the power utility in Diversion Road on Thursday evening to check on their contingency and have a briefing on the power situation in Iloilo City amid the weather disturbance.
Source: Philippines News agency
