Philippines braces for ‘super typhoon,’ aims for zero casualty
Weather forecasters warned of very strong winds and storm surges along coastal areas by Friday
Up to 43.3 million people could be affected by the storm in the Philippines and southern China
MANILA: Bracing for the impact of powerful typhoon “Mangkhut” (local
name “Ompong&ldquo, Philippine officials scrambled to make all
necessary preparations as they aimed for “zero casualty.”
Currently packing sustained winds of 205 kph and gustiness of up to 255
kph, Mangkhut has already entered the Philippines area of responsibility
on Wednesday afternoon. It is described as the strongest typhoon to hit
the country this year.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) earlier said Mangkhut, now with a diameter of
900 km, is expected to reach a peak intensity of around 220 kph maximum
sustained winds and gusts of up to 270 kph.
According to the state weather bureau, cyclones with wind reaching more
than 220 kph are categorized as super typhoon. As of reporting time, it
has yet to upgrade Mangkhut’s status.
In view of the possible effects of Mangkhut, concerned government
agencies held a pre-disaster risk assessment meeting at Camp Gen. Emilio
Aguinaldo to discuss the country’s preparations on the approach of the
cyclone.
During the meeting, PAGASA said tropical cyclone warning signal No. 1
may be raised over Eastern Luzon as early as Wednesday night or early
Thursday morning. Heavy rains and strong winds may be experienced over
Northern Luzon and parts of Central and Southern Luzon. Surrounding seas
are expected to have rough to very rough conditions. Metro Manila may
be issued with Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal 1 between Sept. 14 and
15.
As Mangkhut approached the Cagayan-Batanes area, authorities warned that
very strong strong winds, storm surges along coastal areas and
heavy-to-intense rain is expected in Cagayan and Isabela by Friday and
all over northern Luzon by Saturday.
With that, residents along the coastal areas in affected provinces were
alerted against a possible storm surge. Likewise, people living in flood
and landslide-prone areas were advised to undertake necessary
preparations as early as possible.
“Families are expected to heed the call of local government units on
pre-emptive evacuation if the situation warrants,” the National Disaster
Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.
The NDRRMC Operations Center was likewise placed on red alert and the
Response Cluster has been activated. The NDRRMC is also closely
monitoring actions and preparations on the threats of the typhoon in
close coordination with its regional offices.
This is to ensure the orchestrated response of the government to address
the safety and welfare of communities likely to be affected.
The Department of Interior and Local Government, on the other hand, has
activated its reporting systems to closely monitor the preparations of
local government units (LGUs) concerned, particularly the implementation
of preemptive evacuation.
Officer-In-Charge Eduardo M. Año has ordered mayors to be present in
their respective localities to ensure immediate government response when
the typhoon hits the country.
Año warned that those who fail to show up when the Mangkhut rakes
through the country will be sanctioned. This was stressed as the
government is aiming for zero casualty during the typhoon.
“We have been forewarned as early as last week that Mangkhut is no
ordinary typhoon and is similar to Yolanda. Let us brace our communities
and urge our people to also make the necessary preparations for their
families ... Let’s aim for zero casualty,” said Año. Yolanda
(international name Haiyan) was one of the strongest tropical cyclones
ever recorded. It struck the country in 2013 and left a swath of
destruction, with more than 6,000 people dead.
Año said LGUs must stand by equipment and deploy teams for security,
medical, clearing, evacuation, relief distribution, and communication
needs. They should be able to send rescue and medical teams to highly
vulnerable areas during and after the disaster, and must also secure
power, water supply and communications, patrol areas and stand by for
clearing operations.
Meanwhile, the NDRRMC logistics cluster led by the Office of Civil
Defense has ensured that land, air, and sea assets are in place to
immediately transport additional teams and supplies to stricken areas if
necessary.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines Northern Luzon Command had also
alerted all its ground forces to be on standby and are now in position
to perform humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations with
their military resources such as helicopters and navy vessels which are
ready for use if the need arises.
Quick-response teams have been deployed in the province of Batanes and
have established alternative communication devices to ensure that
communication lines will remain open during the onslaught of the
typhoon.
Additional quick-response teams and health emergency response teams are on standby for immediate deployment in affected areas.
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