ALAMINOS CITY, Pangasinan – The local government has temporarily closed the Hundred Islands National Park to visitors as Typhoon Rosita continues to move towards northern Luzon.
In an advisory posted on the official Facebook accounts of Mayor Art F. Celeste and Alaminos City Tourism on Sunday, the city government states: “To guests, tourists and visitors, please be informed that the Hundred Islands will be closed at 3pm, October 28, 2018, due to the threat of Typhoon Rosita and Gale warning alerts. Resumption of tours will be posted herein soon as weather and sea conditions warrants.”
Earlier on Sunday, the City Tourism Office and the Philippine Coast Guard stopped all small boat trips to the Hundred Islands due to the gale warning. They also limited tours to Children’s and Governor’s Islands cluster only.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) continues to monitor the water level at the San Roque Dam reservoir.
As of Sunday noon, the water level of the dam was at 277.41 meters above sea level (masl), still lower than its spilling level of 280 masl.
The water inflow from upstream was at 66 cubic meters per second (cms), while the outflow was at 200cms. All spillway gates are closed.
Meanwhile, the Disaster Monitoring and Reporting System for Regions 1, 2, 3, and Cordillera Administrative Region has been activated in anticipation of Rosita’s onslaught.
It advised all concerned local government units (LGUs) to activate the concerned barangay DRRMCs, continuously inform all communities, prepare pre-emptive evacuation plans, ensure communication lines are working, restrict or ban tourist activities, warn small-scale miners to stay in safe grounds and avoid any mining activities, continue to monitor all PAGASA weather advisories and typhoon bulletins, and MGB Geo-Hazard Web Portal.
“Rosita”, packing maximum sustained winds of up to 170 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 210 kph, is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds over areas in Luzon beginning Monday night. ( Liwayway Yparraguirre/PNA)
