FIRST District Representative Celso Lobregat on Friday, September 14, strongly warned the residents to be watchful as Zamboanga City and the entire region are experiencing moderate to occasionally heavy rains, coupled with strong winds spawned by Typhoon “Ompong.”
Lobregat urged the residents living in disaster-prone areas to be on alert against possible landslides and flash floods.
He said the residents should also brace for the gustiness of Typhoon Ompong or Mankhut, which can destroy properties and structures.
Clint Senosa, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office operations officer, said that five villages have been inundated as of Friday afternoon.
Senosa said the inundated villages are the following: Tumaga, Tugbungan, Ayala, Patalon, and Labuan.
Of the five, Tumaga and Tugbungan are interior villages while the other three are coastal villages.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Typhoon “Ompong” maintains its strength as it continues to threaten the Isabela-Cagayan area.
The state weather bureau said Typhoon “Ompong” is expected to make landfall in Cagayan-Isabela area on Saturday morning.
The weather bureau advised the residents, especially those living near river channels, in low-lying areas and in mountainous areas, to take appropriate actions against possible flooding and landslides, coordinate with local disaster risk reduction and management offices, and to continue monitoring for updates.
Fisher folks and those with small sea crafts are advised not to venture out over the seaboards of areas with Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal and the eastern seaboards of Visayas and of Mindanao.
“We might be far from the center of Typhoon “Ompong,” but the very strong winds can destroy high-to-low risk structures and topple down trees and electric posts, sea travel can also be risky to our marginal fishermen, so we should be careful on the effects of this disaster,” Lobregat said. (Bong Garcia/SunStar Philippines)