The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Thursday placed all its units on heightened alert and issued notice to mariners as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) warned the public that typhoon “Pepeng” may develop into a super typhoon. The Philippine Navy was likewise placed on red alert.
“This is a really big storm, and we expect this to become a super typhoon really soon. We should take this seriously,” PAGASA Director Nathaniel Cruz said in a press briefing, explaining that the continuously intensifying typhoon could cause more flashfloods and landslides in Luzon. As this developed, House leaders called on the Department of National Defense (DND) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to activate the AFP Reserve Command to provide relief and rescue operations for Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and future calamities.
According to PCG Commandant Admiral Wilfredo, he has alerted all Coast Guard districts and stations in areas on the path of the new typhoon which entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility last Thursday afternoon. Public Warning Storm Signal No.1 was hoisted over Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, and Catanduanes as the country braces for the Typhoon “Pepeng,” which has begun closing in on the eastern land mass of Luzon since Thursday noon, the state weather bureau said.
“In-alert na natin ang lahat ng mga districts and stations sa mga areas na tatamaan ni Pepeng lalo na yung mga lugar na nasa Public Storm Signal No. 1,” Tamayo said.
He said sea vessels weighing 1000 tons or less in provinces placed under Signal No. 1 are no longer allowed to sail, warning that violators will be prosecuted especially the operators responsible for the safety of their respective passengers Armed Forces of the Philippines to activate the AFP Reserve Command to provide relief and rescue operations for Tropical Storm “Ondoy” and future calamities.
According to PCG Commandant Admiral Wilfredo, he has alerted all Coast Guard districts and stations in areas on the path of the new typhoon which entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility last Wednesday afternoon. Public Warning Storm Signal No.1 was hoisted over Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, and Catanduanes as the country braces for the Typhoon “Pepeng,” which has begun closing in on the eastern land mass of Luzon since yesterday noon, the state weather bureau said.
“In-alert na natin ang lahat ng mga districts and stations sa mga areas na tatamaan ni Pepeng lalo na yung mga lugar na nasa Public Storm Signal No. 1,” Tamayo said.
He said sea vessels weighing 1000 tons or less in provinces placed under Signal No. 1 are no longer allowed to sail, warning that violators will be prosecuted especially the operators responsible for the safety of their respective passengers.
He added that no shipping vessels at any weight are allowed to sail once the typhoon warning is raised to Signal No. 2.
The weather bureau said Pepeng has maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 210 kph. It is expected to be around 220 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes by Saturday morning, moving west-northwest at 24 kph.
The Coast Guard meanwhile reported that a number of passengers were already stranded in the Bicol Region as early as Thursday after the notice to mariners had been imposed in the towns of Virac, Tabaco and Tambuan. The CG district there is closely monitoring and rendering assistance for the security and safety of passengers.
PAGASA Director Cruz said that the initial effects of Typhoon “Pepeng” could break tree branches, tilt banana plants, cause significant damage in rice and other crops in the flowering stage, and partially unroof nipa houses in the three Bicol provinces.
Cruz issued the advisory after spotting the eye of Pepeng at about 520 kilometers east of Borongan, Eastern Samar while packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kph near its center and a gustiness of up to 210 kph as of 11 a.m. Thursday.
Speaker Prospero Nograles and Deputy Majority Leader Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said the activation of the AFP Reserve Command will provide the country with “a potent citizen-based force” to assist calamity victims.
“But while we cannot pull out troops from their present locations, (the DND and AFP leadership) can always activate the reserve forces. This will determine how coordinated we are in the reserve forces since our reservists are also a force to reckon with,” Nograles said.
The Speaker said the government’s response will be faster and massive loss of lives during calamities can be avoided if the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) can quickly deploy military reservists, especially in areas that are hard to reach by local government and non-government relief workers.
“Our reservists live in communities and are not inside military camps or in some remote military outposts so they can be quickly tapped to respond in times of crisis,” Nograles said.
“All we need is to have a data on their location and the means to communicate with them. They can be formed into teams depending on their location,” he added.
Angara said the AFP Reserve Command can very well serve as the government’s “first responders” in times of disasters.
“The AFP should utilize our reservists as our frontline evacuation and rescue operatives in times of calamities. Tutal naman hindi sila isinasabak sa mga giyera so I think we should use them primarily as our first responders during calamities. They have the training and skills to be doing such job instead of relying on civilian NGOs (non-government organizations),” he said.
source: mb.com.ph