MANILA – The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday urged the public to take necessary precautions as Tropical Storm Ulysses is expected to make landfall over the Bicol Region-Quezon area on Wednesday.
This, as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), in an emergency meeting with the NDRRMC, said "Ulysses" may intensify into a typhoon ahead of its landfall.
NDRRMC executive director Ricardo Jalad also reminded regional DRRMCs to make use of all available means of communication to ensure that warnings are well-cascaded to communities.
Regional disaster response agencies have been conducting pre-disaster risk assessment meetings to prepare the localities.
In particular, residents are warned against flooding and rain-induced landslides that may occur in highly susceptible areas during heavy rainfall.
Currently, no tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) has been raised but PAGASA noted that TCWS No. 1 may be raised over the provinces in the Bicol Region or Eastern Visayas beginning Monday night or early Tuesday morning in anticipation of the onset of a strong breeze to near gale conditions.
The tail-end of a cold front will bring moderate to heavy rains with at times intense rains over Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, Isabela, and Aurora.
The NDRRMC advised regional and local DRMMCs that might be affected to continue monitoring weather updates, intensify warning dissemination, and implement prescribed precautionary measures.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, "Ulysses" was spotted 575 km. east of Borongan, Eastern Samar. It has maximum sustained winds of 65 km. per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 80 kph.
It is moving northwest at 15 kph.
Meanwhile, the NDRRMC, in its Monday afternoon update on Super Typhoon Rolly, reported that the number of fatalities attributed to the weather disturbance has now climbed to 25, with 399 injured, and six persons missing in Ilocos Region, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Bicol.
Houses damaged by "Rolly" now reached 134,639 with 24,007 classified as totally damaged and 110,632 as partially damaged in Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
The NDRRMC also reported that damage to infrastructure was placed at PHP12.517 billion in the areas of Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, CAR, and the National Capital Region (NCR).
Meanwhile, damage to agriculture was estimated at PHP2.987 billion and these were reported in Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, CAR, and the NCR.
A total of 65,897 hectares of agricultural land were also damaged by the super typhoon. (PNA)
