ILOILO City – The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) is on blue alert even if typhoon “Rosita” (international name: “Yutu”) is moving towards northern Luzon, not the Visayas.
In its 5 a.m. weather bulletin yesterday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said “Rosita” was packing maximum sustained winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center, and gustiness of up to 245 kph.
“The RDRRMC is on alert status for typhoon ‘Yutu’ and sa Halloween. We have different preparedness measures for effective emergency response,” said Aletha Nogra, Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Region 6 assistant director.
According to Pagasa, “Rosita” could be as strong as typhoon “Ompong” (international name: Mangkhut) that ravaged northern Luzon last month.
A blue alert status means representatives of all member agencies of the council are on duty 24/7 at the Emergency Operation Center of the OCD Region 6 in Camp Delgado.
“There is a select group of people nga ma-duty diri para hapos ang information, very spontaneous kay sila may mga tawo sa field,” said Nogra.
“Rosita” was last spotted 980 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan. Moving west at 20 kph, it is expected to make landfall over the Cagayan-Isabela area on Tuesday and leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Thursday.
Still, said Nogra, “kinanglan i-alert man gyapon pa gid ang mga local government units para nga mag-prepare.”
The aim, Nogra explained, is to ensure that no typhoon-related incident happens.
“Ang Department of Social Welfare and Development naka-ready ang food packs. Ang Department of Health, medicine.s Ang Philippine National Police may mga na-deploy na and the Department of Public Works and Highways ara naman prepositioning. So, too, is the Philippine Coast Guard,” said Nogra.
Pagasa weather specialist Meno Mendoza said rains brought by the typhoon may be felt beginning Monday afternoon in Luzon.
Cloudy skies with light rains will prevail over Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley, while partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains will be experienced over Ilocos Region and central Luzon, he added.
Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers caused by localized thunderstorms, said Mendoza./PN
