READY FOR DISPATCH. Personnel of the Philippine Coast Guard assemble in Ilocos Norte on Friday (Oct. 28, 2022) as Tropical Storm Paeng continues its path toward Luzon. The local governments of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte governments urged residents to prepare for Paeng. (Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Station Ilocos Norte)
LAOAG CITY – The Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte governments, through their Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), on Friday urged residents to prepare for Tropical Storm Paeng.
Ilocos Sur PDRRMC head Michael Chan assured the public that their province is ready for the impact of Paeng, which is forecast to affect west of the Ilocos Region by Sunday.
"Preparation is best so as early as now we are gearing up for possible flooding in Ilocos Sur,” he said as Paeng is expected to strengthen into a typhoon by Saturday, October 29, as it moves very close to Bicol.
Meanwhile, in Ilocos Norte, deployable response groups of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) prepositioned in their substations of Currimao, Bacarra, Pasuquin, and Pagudpud were on standby for possible dispatch on Friday.
As of Friday, the Department of Public Works and National Highway (DPWH) reported that one lane of the national highway in Barangay Pancian, Pagudpud, which was earlier hit by a landslide, is passable for light vehicles only from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.; 12 noon to 1 p.m.; and from 5 p.m to 6 p.m. to give time for clearing operations.
“The DPWH team is monitoring the area for recurrence of slides and assisting motorists while traveling the road section,” the DPWH Ilocos Region said on Facebook on Friday.
The DPWH, however, added that the road section may close anytime for the safety of everyone due to the possible adverse effects of Paeng.
A road clearing operation along the Pinili-Nueva Era Road, particularly in Barangay Sto. Tomas, Pinili town, is also ongoing due to rockslides.
In Adams town, four-wheel drive vehicles and motorcycles can now pass through the Pancian-Adams Road but only up to the Masi Bridge because the bridge approach was earlier destroyed, isolating the town for two weeks now.
"Family food packs were likewise prepositioned in various parts of the province in case of preemptive evacuation,” Ilocos Norte Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer Lilian Rin said on Friday.
Commercial flights at the Laoag International Airport, meanwhile, resumed on Friday. (PNA)
