LEGAZPI CITY—The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol Region have placed all clusters under Blue Alert as part of preparation for ‘Typhoon Ompong’.
Ret. General Claudio Yucot, regional director of OCD in Bicol, said Wednesday this is in preparation for the possible effects of the typhoon.
“Ompong will not directly hit the region but because of its strength and wide radius, Bicol will also be affected,” he said in an interview.
Yucot also advised fishermen to be very cautious in going out to sea because of possible big waves.
He alerted disaster risk reduction management councils to prepare for possible evacuation, especially in the lahar threatened areas in Mt. Mayon in Albay province and Mt. Bulusan in Sorsogon province.
Yucot, together with member agencies, have already conducted a pre-disaster risk assessment meeting.
During the meeting, Melvin Almojuela, forecaster of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) Southern Luzon Bureau, said that in the coming three days, Bicol will experience light to moderate and sometimes, heavy rains as the typhoon approaches the Philippine Area of Responsibility.
Yucot said that based on what Phivolcs resident volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta reported, there is some 65 million cubic meters of pyroclastic materials deposited around the slopes of Mt. Mayon during its phreatic explosions last February of this year. It is estimated also that at least 60 millimeter per hour of threshold rain will trigger lahar flows.
Laguerta added there is no threat of lahar flows in Mt. Bulusan because only hundreds of cubic meters of pyroclastic had deposited around its slope.
The OCD alerted the communities and LGUs for possible floods, flashfloods, storm surge and landslides. (Jorge Hallare/PNA)
