MANILA – The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday was placed on red alert status as typhoon Rosita was set to bring heavy rains in Luzon.
NDRRMC spokesperson Edgar Posadas told a news conference the red alert status was raised at 8 a.m. Monday.
Rosita was expected to bring heavy rains in Northern and Central Luzon on Monday evening, and make landfall over the Isabela-Aurora area on Tuesday.
In its 11 a.m. weather bulletin, state weather bureau Pagasa said Rosita was last spotted 410 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora, packing maximum sustained winds of up to 150 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph.
Moving west southwest at 20 kph, Rosita is likely to weaken further into a severe tropical storm, Pagasa weather forecaster Benison Estareja said.
“Under red alert status, operations alert teams are required to be on duty 24/7 to respond to emergencies and calamities,” Posadas said, adding that the regional disaster management offices of Ilocos, Cagayan, Central Luzon, and Cordillera were also alerted.
The alert status also required coordination with agencies including Pagasa, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Philippine National Police.
Pagasa raised Public Storm Warning Signal No. 3 over Isabela, Quirino and northern Aurora. These areas will experience stormy weather and winds of 120 to 171 kph within the next 18 hours.
Signal No. 2, meanwhile, was hoisted over Cagayan, Abra, Kalinga, Ilocos Sur, Mountain Province, Ifugao, La Union, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, northern Quezon including Polillo Island, and southern Aurora. They will experience stormy weather and winds of 61 to 120 kph within the next 24 hours.
Under Signal No. 1 were southern Quezon, Ilocos Norte, Apayao, Batanes and Babuyan group of Islands, Zambales, Rizal, Pampanga, Bulacan, Metro Manila, Laguna, Batangas, Bataan, Cavite, and Camarines Norte. They will experience winds of 30 to 60 kph within the next 36 hours. (With PNA/PN)
