POLICE Regional Office-Central Visayas Director Debold Sinas has declared a red alert on Wednesday morning, September 12, as Typhoon Mangkhut (international name) is set to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).

The police official issued a directive to lower units, including town police stations, to prepare their search and rescue equipment as the typhoon is expected to bring in heavy rains.

The state-run weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) stated that Mangkhut will be renamed Ompong when it enters PAR by Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

Pagasa-Mactan said parts of Northern Luzon will be directly hit by the typhoon, but other parts of the country, including Visayas, are expected to experience bad weather. (KAL)