Philippines braces for Typhoon Bopha
MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday urged the people to be prepared and follow government warnings and advisories on a strong typhoon expected to hit the country next week.
“Pablo” (international name Bopha) is now considered a strong typhoon pushing west and threatening Palau and then the eastern seaboard of the Philippines.
The Visayas and Mindanao will start to feel the effects of the typhoon on Tuesday going in to Wednesday, reports said.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said there is no need for Malacañang to issue orders all the time for the departments and agencies as well as the local government units to make sure that the areas affected would be prepared for the approaching typhoon.
Valte stressed preparation and response to natural disasters must be automatic.
“The moment (Pablo) enters the Philippine area of responsibility, PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration will give more frequent updates,” Valte said.
She said all other departments and agencies involved were ready with evacuation and rescue operations if needed, basic medicine, relief goods, evacuation centers and heavy equipment if needed for road clearings.
“So that is President Aquino’s order, the moment that we know that there is a typhoon or a tropical storm that enters the Philippine area of responsibility, all our preparations must be automatic,” Valte said.
PAGASA forecaster Connie Dadivas said that last Friday, Bopha was moving at the speed of 25 kilometers per hour (kph), but as of yesterday it slowed down to 20 kph.
“It is expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility by Monday, but it is possible that it would make landfall by Tuesday and hit Eastern Visayas,” Dadivas said.
As of 5 p.m. yesterday, the typhoon was located at 1,600 kilometers east of Southern Mindanao with maximum sustained winds of 165 kph and gustiness of up to 200 kph. It is moving west northwest.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has declared a blue alert in wide areas of Mindanao and the Visayas as part of ongoing preparations for Pablo.
NDRRMC administrator Benito Ramos said the regional, provincial, city and municipal disaster responders in Western, Central, Eastern Visayas, as well as those in Regions 10, 11, 12 and the Caraga in Mindanao have started pre-positioning its rescue units and rescue equipment as well as food supplies and medicine in flood-prone and landslide prone places.
“Our local disaster responders are also ready for possible enforcement of forced evacuations of residents along danger zone areas,” Ramos declared.
Evacuations centers have also been identified to include schools, gymnasiums, churches and even cockpit arenas, he said.
Other concerned agencies like the Departments of Health (DOH), Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Education (DepEd), two Army divisions, to include the local police, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP), are now on standby in preparation for Pablo. –
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said there is no need for Malacañang to issue orders all the time for the departments and agencies as well as the local government units to make sure that the areas affected would be prepared for the approaching typhoon.
Valte stressed preparation and response to natural disasters must be automatic.
“The moment (Pablo) enters the Philippine area of responsibility, PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration will give more frequent updates,” Valte said.
She said all other departments and agencies involved were ready with evacuation and rescue operations if needed, basic medicine, relief goods, evacuation centers and heavy equipment if needed for road clearings.
“So that is President Aquino’s order, the moment that we know that there is a typhoon or a tropical storm that enters the Philippine area of responsibility, all our preparations must be automatic,” Valte said.
PAGASA forecaster Connie Dadivas said that last Friday, Bopha was moving at the speed of 25 kilometers per hour (kph), but as of yesterday it slowed down to 20 kph.
“It is expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility by Monday, but it is possible that it would make landfall by Tuesday and hit Eastern Visayas,” Dadivas said.
As of 5 p.m. yesterday, the typhoon was located at 1,600 kilometers east of Southern Mindanao with maximum sustained winds of 165 kph and gustiness of up to 200 kph. It is moving west northwest.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has declared a blue alert in wide areas of Mindanao and the Visayas as part of ongoing preparations for Pablo.
NDRRMC administrator Benito Ramos said the regional, provincial, city and municipal disaster responders in Western, Central, Eastern Visayas, as well as those in Regions 10, 11, 12 and the Caraga in Mindanao have started pre-positioning its rescue units and rescue equipment as well as food supplies and medicine in flood-prone and landslide prone places.
“Our local disaster responders are also ready for possible enforcement of forced evacuations of residents along danger zone areas,” Ramos declared.
Evacuations centers have also been identified to include schools, gymnasiums, churches and even cockpit arenas, he said.
Other concerned agencies like the Departments of Health (DOH), Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Education (DepEd), two Army divisions, to include the local police, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP), are now on standby in preparation for Pablo. (From Philstar.com)