OCD: Expect possible preemptive evacuation in Batanes, Cagayan towns as Mawar approaches

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Wednesday said preemptive evacuations are expected to be imposed in the coastal towns of Batanes and some parts of Cagayan as Typhoon Mawar gets closer to the country.

“Based sa forecast, kasi itong tinutumbok niyan Batanes and parts of Cagayan so possibility pa lang na magkaroon ng preemptive,” OCD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV told reporters.

(Based on the forecast, Mawar is approaching Batanes and parts of Cagayan so there is a possibility that we will have preemptive evacuation.)

The possible preemptive evacuation may be conducted over the weekend as Mawar is seen to approach the Philippines the closest on Monday or Tuesday, Alejandro said.

He said local disaster risk reduction and management councils will decide on the evacuation.

Relief goods are now prepositioned in Batanes and Cagayan. Additional supplies are also ready in Central Luzon, he added.

Mawar, which remains outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), has weakened into a typhoon on Wednesday morning, according to state weather bureau PAGASA.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, PAGASA weather specialist Rhea Torres said there is a possibility that Mawar may weaken further or become a super typhoon again within 24 hours.

“‘Yung binabantayan natin na si dating super typhoon Mawar na nasa labas pa rin ng Philippine area of responsibility... humina ang intensity nito at naging isang typhoon category na lamang,” she said.

(The former super typhoon Mawar, which we are monitoring outside the Philippine area of responsibility, has weakened to a typhoon category.)

“Ngunit naga-undergo ito o dumadaan sa tinatawag nating eyewall replacement cycle, ibig sabihin bahagyang hihina po ito or posible o mataas ang tsansa na lalakas o babalik ito into a super typhoon category within 24 hours,” Torres added.

(However, Mawar is undergoing what we call eyewall replacement cycle, which means it could weaken although there is still a big chance that it will become a super typhoon again.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News