(File photo)
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Saturday assured the public of the government’s preparedness to respond to communities that would be hit by Super Typhoon Goring.
In a statement posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, Marcos said the government is monitoring the typhoon-stricken areas, particularly those situated in Northern Luzon.
“Nakatutok ang ating pamahalaan sa sitwasyon ng Northern Luzon na muling nakararanas ng malakas na ulan at hangin na dala ng Bagyong #GoringPH (Our government is focused on the situation in Northern Luzon which is once again experiencing heavy rain and wind brought by Typhoon #GoringPH),” he said.
“Nakaantabay din ang ating mga disaster and response units kung kinakailangan ng evacuation at rescue operations (Our disaster and response units are also on standby if evacuation and rescue operations are required),” he added.
Marcos said the Department of Social Welfare and Development has already prepositioned over 10,000 food packs in the affected areas.
He said the government would make sure that there is a sufficient supply of food and other non-food items until the typhoon exits the country.
Goring has reached super typhoon category and was spotted based on all available data, including those from Baler and Daet Weather Radars, at 95 km east northeast of Casiguran, Aurora as of the 11 a.m. weather bulletin Sunday.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 3 is up over the eastern portion of Isabela (Divilacan, Palanan, Dinapigue, Ilagan City, San Mariano).
Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) urged local chief executives in the Cagayan Valley Region and other affected regions to be on their toes.
In a statement on Sunday, the DILG has directed as early as Friday its Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) office to activate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Disaster Online Reporting and Monitoring System (DORMS) to ensure the adherence of local government units (LGUs) within their jurisdiction to disaster protocols.
In a memorandum, the DILG asked LGUs to convene their local disaster risk reduction and management councils (DRRMCs); conduct pre-disaster risk assessment for floods and other hazards; activate their barangay DRRMCs for early warning and monitoring of landslide zones; and assess the structural integrity of evacuation areas.
“The safety of our people is primordial. Hence, affected LGUs must implement preemptive evacuation when necessary, prioritize the health and safety of all response personnel and evacuees, and preposition supplies and equipment,” Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said in a news release.
LGUs were also reminded to continuously inform and advise affected communities of situation updates and intensify the use of social media platforms for public information.
LGUs must also undertake critical preparedness actions in 1,481 villages in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula, which were identified by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to have high to very high susceptibility to floods and rain-induced landslides.
As this developed, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office-2 (Cagayan Valley) is now on high alert status as Goring threatens to batter parts of the region.
At least 367 families or 1,219 individuals from 24 villages in Cagayan and Isabela have so far been affected by the super typhoon.
Of this number, 138 families or 468 individuals were displaced and are now sheltered in 26 open evacuation centers.
More than 70,000 family packs have been made available since Saturday with over 40,000 already prepositioned. (With a report from Zaldy De Layola, PNA)
