AT LEAST 5.2 million people in Luzon are at risk of being affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong (international name Mangkhut), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Friday, September 14.
NDRRMC spokesperson Edgard Posadas was referring to the residents of Ilocos, Cagayan, Cordillera and Central Luzon regions.
Posadas said an estimated 983,100 of these people are below poverty line and are, thus, more “vulnerable” with less “coping mechanisms” due to “minimal resources and capabilities.”
“Isabela now is the number one projected to be affected with 1.57 million (individuals) and then the province of Cagayan with 1.2 million (persons),” said Posadas.
However, Posadas said not all the affected population needs to be evacuated as not all of them are living in coastal or low-lying areas.
As of 6 a.m. the NDRRMC said 2,298 families have been pre-emptively evacuated in the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Isabela, Abra, Benguet and Kalinga.
It said the Department of Social Welfare and Development has nearly P1.7 billion worth of relief goods and standby funds.
A total of 351,152 family food packs and non-food items have been prepositioned in strategic areas as well as P20 million worth of rice.
As of 1 p.m., the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Typhoon Ompong slightly accelerated as it continued to threaten the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan.
Typhoon Ompong was spotted at 470 kilometer (km) east of Baler, Aurora, packing maximum sustained winds of 205 km per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 255 kph. It was moving west northwest in 25 kph.
Pagasa said Ompong is expected to make landfall in Cagayan-Isabela on Saturday morning, September 15.
Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal (TCWS) #3 is hoisted over the provinces of Cagayan including Babuyan group of Islands, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Northern Aurora, Isabela where winds of 121 to 170 kph are expected in at least 18 hours while storm surges of over 14 meters are possible in coastal areas.
TCWS #2 was raised over the provinces of Batanes, La Union, Benguet, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Southern Aurora, Northern Zambales where winds of 61 to 120 kph are expected within the next 24 hrs while 4.1 to 14 meters of storm surges are possible.
The provinces of Southern Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, Rizal, Metro Manila, Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon including Polillo Island, Northern Occidental Mindoro including Lubang Island, Northern Oriental Mindoro, Masbate, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Burias and Ticao Islands, Northern Samar are under TCWS number 1, which means 30 to 60 kph of winds are expected in 36 hours. (SunStar Philippines)