The online news portal of TV5 MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 4 - 3:49 p.m.) Disaster response agencies at the national and local levels scrambled Wednesday to prepare for the expected onslaught of what is predicted to be a supertyphoon, which will be called “Yolanda” when it enters the Philippine area of responsibility. Earlier, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the storm could be strong enough to require the raising of Signal No. 4 in areas along its path, particularly Bicol and the Visayas. Signal no. 4 conditions include “very strong winds of more than 185 kilometers per hour for at least 12 hours.” According to Pagasa, its possible impacts may be: Extensive damage to coconut plantations. Uprooting of many large trees. Severe losses for rice and corn plantations. Severe damage to most residences and buildings of mixed construction. Severe disruption of electrical power distribution and communication services. Heavy overall damage to affected communities. As such a supertyphoon “is potentially very destructive to the community,” Pagasa recommends the following precautionary measures: Cancel all travels and outdoor activities. Evacuation to safer shelters should have been completed since it may be too late under this situation. At the same time, the state-owned weather bureau said the tropical storm over the Pacific Ocean or east of the Philippines, with the international name Haiyan, has accelerated and intensified into a typhoon and expected to enter the country’s area of responsibility on Thursday morning. For its part, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said all provinces in the path of the supertyphoon are already deep in preparations. Agencies belonging to the NDRRMC met in Camp Aguinaldo Wednesday to check on preparations for the storm. Among the areas that may be battered by the storm are Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Catanduanes, Masbate, Samar, Leyte, Biliran, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan. “Mas mabuti na ang handa kaysa magsisi sa bandang huli. Mahalaga ang bawat oras para magligtas ng buhay (Its better to be prepared than regret it in the end. Every moment is precious when it comes to saving lives),” Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, who was at the NDRRMC meeting, said. He said he has instructed officials in areas predicted to be at risk to monitor “ang galaw ng bagyong ito bago pa man tumama sa lupa. Walang saysay ang paghahanda kung hihintayin pa natin ang pagtama ng bagyo sa Pilipinas bago tayo kumilos (the storms movement even before it hits land. Our preparations will be useless if we wait for the storm to hit the Philippines before we act).” Path of the supertyphoon Once it enters the country, Pagasa weather forecaster Chris Perez said the storm, the 24th cyclone this year and the second to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) this month. Citing the agency’s numerical models, Perez said the cyclone is projected to make landfall over Eastern Visayas specifically in Samar, Leyte on Friday afternoon. Eastern Visayas, he noted, will surely have stormy weather. Perez said that as of 4:00 a.m. Wednesday, Haiyan was estimated to be 1,560 km east of Mindanao (07.4°N, 140.7°E) with maximum sustained winds of 120 kph and gustiness of up to 150 kph. It is forecast to move west at 30 kph. Based on its present “westward” track, Perez said the cyclone is projected to traverse the Visayas region then will exit via Mindoro or Palawan. For the Wednesday forecast, Perez said the northeast monsoon would affect Northern and Central Luzon bringing cloudy skies with rain showers and thunderstorms over the Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, and Ilocos. He added that Metro Manila and the rest of the country will experience isolated rain showers and thunderstorms especially in the eastern section. In its advisory, Pagasa said that moderate to strong winds blowing from the northeast will prevail over Luzon and Western Visayas and the coastal waters along these areas will be moderate to rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the northeast to north with slight to moderate seas. Preemptive evacuation In the Bicol region, the Department of Interior and Local Governments regional office advised all provincial disaster risk reduction and management councils to implement the preemptive evacuation of communities at risk. “Governors and mayors are reminded to strictly monitor their respective localities and secure their constituents in safe evacuation centers prior to the expected landfall of Yolanda,” DILG regional director Blandino Maceda said. The provincial government of Albay will start implementing early evacuation as early as Thursday. Albay Governor Joey Salceda said 134,246 families, or 665,433 persons, in the province stand to be affected by the storm based on the database of the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council. He added that schools that can be used as evacuation centers have already been readied. The largest risk group in Albay counts 46,335 families whose houses are made of light materials. Next are households in low-lying areas and along riverbanks, who number 34,453 families. The third are households living near lahar deposits, mainly in Daraga, Legazpi City, Guinobatan and Camalig, who number 22,622 families. Next are 16,292 families living in coastal barangays who are at risk from storm surges, and 14,546 families in landslide-prone areas. Salceda said they aim to evacuate these families before the storm hits. The Philippine National Police in the region has gone on red alert status and has positioned augmentation forces for deployment in case of a direct hit, said Office of Civil Defense regional director Raffy Alejandro. Northern Samar braces In Catarman, Northern Samar, Governor Jose Ong Jr. convened the provincial disaster risk reduction and management council to prepare for the storm, which is expected to strike Eastrn Visayas. Among others, he instructed the National Food Authority here to ensure there would be enough rice to meet the needs of evacuees. Felion Corona, head of PAG-ASA’s local station said there is as yet no indication Yolanda might change course and spare the Samar provinces. “We just hope and pray that there would be less damage,” he said. Engineers Ferndinand Briones and Virgelio Aleria of the province’s first and second engineering districts told Ong thy have deployed repair crews who will be on standby round-the-clock. Concerns were raised about whether the province’s school buildings can withstand Yolanda’s forecast winds of more than 200 kilometers per hour. Nevertheless, school heads were instructed to make their classrooms available for evacuations. All military and police forces were also placed on alert. Prepositioning Despite successive storms and the Central Visayas quake, which required massive relief operations, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said it still has enough resources to respond to the possible effects of Yolanda. In an interview at the sidelines of the National Conference on Child Protection in the Cyberage in Manila, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman said they have prepositioned P4 million worth of relief goods in Region 8, where the storm is expected to make landfall. Those goods are all ready for distribution should the need arise, Soliman said. We are also speeding up construction of bunkhouses because tents are not enough in the face of a storm. But we are also discussing if we need additional tents that we could get from Clark, Soliman said. Red Cross on alert The Philippine Red Cross has gone on full alert with its rescue assets -- rubber boats, generator sets, fuel and vehicles -- on standby for deployment. “We enjoin staff and volunteers of Red Cross chapters based in Visayas to be alert 24 hours a day and continue to monitor their respective areas. We should always be prepared to act immediately for any untoward incident,” PRC chairman Richard Gordon said. “Let us all continue to monitor, coordinate and report status of evacuees, overflow of dams, landslides, flooding incidents and general conditions to the PRC National Headquarters Operation Center,” he added. Additional emergency supplies are being provided to PRC chapters even as staff and volunteers are also starting to pack relief items such as food, sleeping items and hygiene kits to be distributed to areas that may be affected. The PRC is sending food items for an initial 5,000 families to chapters that will need urgent support. Non-food items such as laundry soap, bath soap, jerry cans, kitchen sets and tarpaulins will also be sent. The PRC also issued “Survival Tips” before, during and after the typhoon. Before the typhoon: Store an adequate supply of food and clean water. Prepare foods that need not be cooked. Keep flashlights, candles and battery-powered radios within easy reach. Examine your house and repair its unstable parts. Always keep yourself updated with the latest weather report. Harvest crops that can be yielded already. Secure domesticated animals in a safe place. For fisher folks, place boats in a safe area. Should you need to evacuate, bring clothes, first aid kit, candles/flashlight, battery-powered radio, food, etc. During the Typhoon: Stay inside the house. Always keep yourself updated with the latest weather report. If safe drinking water is not available, boil water for at least 20 minutes. Place it in a container with cover. Keep an eye on lighted candles or gas lamps. Do not wade through floodwaters to avoid being electrocuted and contracting diseases. If there is a need to move to an evacuation center, follow these reminders. Evacuate calmly. Close the windows and turn off the main power switch. Put important appliances and belongings in a high ground. Avoid the way leading to the river. After the Typhoon: If your house was destroyed, make sure that it is already safe and stable when you enter. Beware of dangerous animals such as snakes that may have entered your house Watch out for live wires or outlet immersed in water. Report damaged electrical cables and fallen electric posts to the authorities.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 08:47:22 +0000
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