SOME 180 families in Cagayan and Cordillera region were pre-emptively evacuated due to Severe Tropical Storm Florita, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Tuesday, August 23, 2022.
In its situational report, the NDRRMC said 70 families or 152 persons in Cagayan Valley and 110 families or 391 individuals in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) were brought to a safer place due to possible flooding and landslides.
The Cagayan Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office said several areas in the towns of Baggao, Gonzaga and Gattaran were flooded due to the continuous rainfall brought by Florita.
The NDRRMC said three roads in Bicol region were reported not passable due to the effects of the weather disturbance.
A total of 162 classes in Ilocos, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Bicol and the Cordillera have been suspended.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, August 23, the center of Florita was spotted over the coastal waters of Maconacon, Isabela with maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour (km/h) near the center, gusts of up to 150 km/h and central pressure of 985 hPa.
The storm was moving northwestward at 20 km/h.
The weather bureau hoisted Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) Number 3 in the northern portion of Ilocos Norte (Pagudpud, Dumalneg, Adams, Bangui, Burgos), Apayao, the southern portion of Babuyan Islands (Camiguin Island, Fuga Island, Dalupiri Island), mainland Cagayan and the northeastern portion of Isabela (Palanan, Divilacan, Maconacon, San Pablo, Tumauini, Cabagan, Santa Maria, Santo Tomas, Delfin Albano, Ilagan City, San Mariano).
Under TCWS Number 2 were the rest of Babuyan Islands and Isabela, Quirino, the northern and eastern portion of Nueva Vizcaya (Quezon, Diadi, Bagabag, Villaverde, Solano, Kasibu), Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, the northern portion of Benguet (Buguias, Bakun, Mankayan, Kibungan), the rest of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, and the northern portion of Aurora (Dilasag, Casiguran, Dinalungan, Dipaculao).
Batanes, the rest of Nueva Vizcaya and Benguet, La Union, the eastern portion of Pangasinan (Santo Tomas, Villasis, Mapandan, Mangaldan, San Fabian, San Jacinto, Manaoag, City of Urdaneta, Rosales, Balungao, Umingan, San Quintin, Natividad, San Nicolas, Tayug, Santa Maria, Asingan, San Manuel, Binalonan, Sison, Pozorrubio, Laoac, Dagupan City), the northeastern portion of Tarlac (San Manuel, Anao), Nueva Ecija and the rest of Aurora have been placed under TCWS 1.
Pagasa said majority of the provinces in the country will experience rains in the following days due to Florita, which also enhances a southwest monsoon.
“Considering these developments, the public and disaster risk reduction and management offices concerned are advised to take all necessary measures to protect life and property,” it said.
“Persons living in areas identified to be highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards are advised to follow evacuation and other instructions from local officials,” it added.
Pagasa said the weather system is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Wednesday morning, August 24, 2022. (SunStar Philippines)