ILOILO CITY — Western Visayas is now 100 percent prepared as Typhoon Mangkhut (local name “Ompong”) is expected to enter the country on Wednesday.
In a press conference Tuesday, Office of Civil Defense 6 (Western Visayas) Director Jose Roberto R. Nuñez said they are on “blue alert” and are making all necessary preparations in anticipation of the typhoon’s impact on the region.
A Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) was conducted to account the preparations of all the member agencies, particularly in terms of their equipment for response, evacuation and relief operations.
An operation center was established at the OCD-6 office in Camp Martin Delgado in Fort San Pedro here and will be open 24/7 starting tonight, Nuñez said.
“We are targeting zero casualty,” he said.
Nuñez already ordered all local disaster risk reduction and management offices in the entire region to lay down their preemptive measures to minimize the impact of the typhoon.
“We are giving them the authority to advice their constituents to evacuate immediately, especially those in flood- and landslide-prone areas,” he said.
He noted that Capiz is one of their priorities because it has been identified as flood-prone.
Nuñez said they are closely coordinating with the regional office of the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police to secure the trips and safety of passengers.
At present, the region is still experiencing fair weather but cloudy skies and rains are expected on Thursday.
“But they should not panic,” he said, adding that they should be vigilant and monitor updates about the incoming typhoon.
Meanwhile, Nuñez said the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) meeting on Boracay Island on Sept. 14 was moved to Oct. 5 due to the typhoon.
“I do not want the members of our RDRRMC to take the risk,” he said.
Nuñez said they were supposed to tackle the post-disaster need analysis on the six-month closure of the island and gather reports from different member agencies.
The weather bureau said that as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, “Mangkhut” has further intensified while continuing to move westward.
The eye of the typhoon was located at 1,845 km. east of Southern Luzon (outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility) and has maximum sustained winds of 170 km. per hour. ( Cindy Ferrer/PNA)
