TABUK CITY, Kalinga — The provincial government of Kalinga is gearing for zero casualty as Typhoon Ompong starts to be felt in this province Friday.
Governor Jocel Baac, in a coordination meeting here, said they have laid down preparations as early as Sept. 12, pre-positioning food supplies and equipment in susceptible areas.
Baac said they are monitoring the low-lying towns of Rizal, Pinukpuk and parts of Tabuk City, and landslide-prone areas in Pasil and Lubuagan towns.
The governor noted that deaths were recorded in Pasil and Lubuagan due to landslide during Typhoon Lawin that devastated a big portion of northern Luzon in 2016, including this province.
Baac said the gymnasium beside the provincial capitol in Bulanao here has been identified as the central evacuation center for the province, with supplies already on site. An incident command center has also been set up at the capitol gym, he added.
He also said the provincial government has distributed satellite phones to rescuers, which can be used even if communication networks are damaged, to allow them to provide immediate response.
Kalinga’s power system also frequently bogs down, making it difficult to communicate with the municipalities, he said.
Meanwhile, the 503rd Infantry Brigade, which has a base in this city, has begun to deploy trucks in Pinukpuk, one of the low-lying towns that will be used to move people to evacuation centers.
Barangays Lanna and Sucbot in Pinukpuk, as well as part of barangays Cabaruan and Balong in Tabuk City are also being monitored for being located in low-lying areas.
As of Friday morning, Kalinga began feeling quite strong winds and isolated strong rains.
Kagawad Kimay Baglinit of Barangay Calanan, this city said residents have started to prepare their houses, making sure that the roofs are intact. Branches of trees have also been pruned to prevent causing injury and damage due to strong winds.
All activities have been canceled and postponed as part of the preparedness of the province.
As of 11 a.m. Friday, the weather bureau raised typhoon signal number 3 in Isabela, Cagayan including Babuyan Group of Islands, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, northern part of Aurora including Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, and Ifugao.
Benguet, including Baguio City, is currently under signal number 2.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), in its bulletin issued 11 a.m. on Friday, said “Ompong” was already 540 km. east of Baler, Aurora, moving northwest at 20 km. per hour (kph).
The typhoon continues to have maximum winds of 205 kph and gustiness of up to 255 kph.
Even if PAGASA does not yet classify “Ompong” as a super typhoon, it remains to be a powerful tropical cyclone with a huge diameter of 900 km. (Jesse Maguiya/PNA)
