Aurora residents back home after night of ‘picnic’ in gym

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines — Aurora Governor Bellaflor Angara-Castillo said she lifted the tsunami warning in her province, which faces the Pacific Ocean, at 11:30 p.m. Friday following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, but residents who evacuated coastal areas returned to their homes at daybreak.

Some 2,000 residents of coastal villages that make up the Aurora capital town of Baler moved up to Ermita Hill, the highest spot in the municipality, the same area where their ancestors ran for safety during a killer tsunami in the 1800s, she said. They later spent the night at the provincial sports complex.

“I did not want them to leave yet. I urged them to stay on just to make sure they're safe. Anyway, they brought along provisions for the night. It seemed we had a picnic,” Castillo told the Inquirer by telephone.

She said residents started returning home by 5 a.m. Saturday.

Reports from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 917 families were evacuated in Baler, Dingalan, Dipaculao, Dinalungan and San Luis towns on Friday afternoon when the tsunami Alert Level 2 was raised. (report from Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon Desk)