Gov. Roel Degamo has called on the people of Negros Oriental to stay alert but remain calm amid a tsunami alert level warning in the Philippines, following the 8.9 tremor that hit Japan yesterday afternoon.

Degamo has mobilized the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to prepare for any eventuality, even as Joe Molas of the local office of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has assured that Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental are not among the areas in the Philippines more likely to be hit by a tsunami, Adrian Sedillo of the Capitol said.

Chief Angelo Tiongson of the PDRRMC said local government units have already been warned to take the necessary precautionary measures, and ensure that people residing along the coastlines have also been alerted.

Provisions are aplenty and in the event of evacuation, public schools can be utilized as temporary shelters, said Tiongson, who also appealed to the people to stay calm even as he expressed worry over his son who is in Hiroshima, Japan and who, at press time, could not be contacted.

While it is a remote possibility that Negros Oriental will be hit by a tsunami, nonetheless, it is better to be safe than sorry, he said.

Provincial police director, Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, also said that he has issued a directive to the police chiefs to step up their vigilance and be on the lookout for possible eventualities, especially in coastal communities.

Yesterday afternoon, the PHIVOLCS upgraded its alert level from 1 to 2 following the 8.9 magnitude quake that triggered a tsunami in Honshu, Japan.

Some 19 provinces in the east coast of the Philippines were among those listed as to be likely hit by the tsunami, which was estimated to arrive on Philippine shores between 5 and 7 p.m. yesterday.*JFP

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