The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) denied being “caught flat footed” by the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses which is reminiscent of Typhoon Ondoy.
Metro Manila residents were taken aback by the cyclone especially those living in Marikina City and Rizal Province who were met with raging waters higher than the average person. They were left waiting to be rescued on their rooftops.
According to OCD ASec. Casiano Monilla, the government has learned its lesson well from the aftermath of Typhoon Ondoy in 2009 and this has since been the benchmark of the agency’s response to calamities such as this. Floods are always a possibility for prolonged rain spells.
Monilla added that the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council did not fall short in giving ample reminders to people living in most parts of Luzon which was declared to be under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal 3 by the PAGASA.
The OCD assured that its rescue operations are ongoing and different government agencies remain alert. It also announced that it is open to any assistance that the private sector may provide.
Meanwhile, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año shared that search and rescue teams have been dispatched from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Said agencies have also been meeting at the office of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management (NDRRMC) where assessment is ongoing on reports received from the ground. Sec. Año observed that Typhoon Ulysses is lesser in intensity compared to Typhoon Ondoy but the series of cyclones that recently hit the country has led to the overflowing of dams which in turn caused flooding in low-lying areas.
-Report from Patrick de Jesus
