NDRRMC: Over P900M worth of relief goods ready ahead of Odette landfall

More than P900 million worth of relief goods have been readied for those who will be possibly affected by Tropical Storm Rai once it enters the country, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Tuesday.

In a SuperRadyo dzBB interview, NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said that they discussed on Sunday the preparations of the local disaster councils and local government units (LGUs) in areas which may be affected by the tropical cyclone.

“On the part of the National Disaster Council, ang ating relief items and stockpiles ay more than P900 million worth pa at ito ay more than enough para ma-sustain ang ating operations para tulungan ang mga kababayan natin diyan sa mga maapektuhang communities,” he said. 

(We have P900 million worth of relief items and stockpiles in NDRRMC and these are enough to sustain the operations to help our countrymen in affected communities.)

Timbal said that the family food packs are distributed to various warehouses of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and certain locations set by the LGUs.

“Kapag kailangan ng LGUs ng karagdagang supplies, nakakasa na po ‘yung logistical support para ma-transport itong family food packs at iba pang kagamitan agad-agad doon sa mga communities o municipalities na ‘yon,” he added.

(If the LGUs need additional supplies, we have prepared our logistical support to immediately transport the family food packs and other equipment to the communities or municipalities in need.)

He also said that over 10,000 barangays that are prone to floods and landslides have also been alerted, while the deployment of search and rescue teams for road clearing operations have also been readied.

The tropical storm is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Tuesday evening and will then be renamed “Odette,” according to weather bureau PAGASA.

PAGASA noted that tropical cyclone wind signals will likely be raised over Visayas, large portions of Mindanao, and several provinces in Southern Luzon due to the threat of strong to typhoon-force winds associated with the passage of the typhoon.

GMA resident meteorologist Nathaniel "Mang Tani" Cruz said on Super Radyo dzBB on Tuesday that Odette may make landfall over Surigao del Norte, Samar, and Leyte.

"Malakas ito," he said.

.@mang_tani: 'Yung landfall sa Surigao del Norte at Samar, Leyte, malakas ito.

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) December 13, 2021

“Ang ating paulit na paalala sa mga kababayan within the next few hours diyan sa Eastern Visayas, posible na kayong makatanggap ng NDRRMC text alert. Intindihin po natin ‘yan,” Timbal said.

(Our reminder is that within the next few hours, those from Eastern Visayas may already receive NDRRMC text alerts. Please attend to it.)

He added that the public should follow the disaster preparedness guidelines set by the LGUs, and proceed should they say that evacuation is a must.

Wearing of face masks and physical distancing in evacuation centers should also be observed.

Meanwhile, Josefina Titong, head of Eastern Samar Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), said that they had a council meeting on Monday to also discuss preventive measures for Odette.

She emphasized that while there is no need yet to transfer the residents to evacuation centers as of the moment, the barangays and LGUs concerned are already on standby for the possible preemptive and forced evacuation.

“Sa ngayon po, cloudy skies tapos may ano tayo very light rain, intermittent siya sa ngayon,” she said, explaining the current weather condition in the province.

(Right now, we have cloudy skies and experience very light rain that is intermittent.)

Further, Titong said that the vaccine supplies in the region are kept in provincial health offices and their generators are also ready in case of power interruption. —KG, GMA News