Surigao del Sur PDRRMO on blue alert due to Kabayan

The Surigao del Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said Sunday it has raised the “blue alert” status as Tropical Depression Kabayan continues to affect certain areas in Mindanao and Visayas.

Surigao del Sur PDRRMO head Alex Arana said the province was experiencing occasional rainfall earlier on Sunday morning, but the weather was generally fine.

Despite this, he said they will conduct a meeting again with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Caraga to assess their preparations for the tropical cyclone.

“Ngayon ay nasa blue alert kami. Lahat ng mga responders, lahat kami na nasa opisina ay kailangan nasa duty na para sa kahandaan na ginagawa namin at ‘yan ay nasa protocol namin sa lahat ng mga disaster offices. Naka-intact na ang protocol na ‘yan kapag nasa blue alert,” he said in a Super Radyo dzBB interview.

(We are now on blue alert. All the responders, all of us in the office must be on duty to prepare. That is the protocol is intact in all disaster offices when the blue alert is raised.)

Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1 is currently raised over Surigao del Sur and 15 other areas due to Kabayan.

Under TCWS No.1, winds with speeds ranging 39 to 61 km/h may prevail within the next 36 hours. Wind impacts may also result in minimal to minor threat to life and property.

Arana said Surigao del Sur still has funds to prepare for the storm, even if it was hit by a number of earthquakes in the recent weeks, with the strongest being the magnitude 7.4 earthquake on December 2.

“Nailabas din ang mga disaster fund kasi nag-declare ng state of calamity. Pero magkaganon man, meron pa namang natitirang mga pondo. Nandiyan naman ang DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] para magbigay ng suporta,” he added.

(Disaster funds were used after the earthquake because a state of calamity was declared. But even so, there are still funds left. The DSWD is also there to provide support.)

PAGASA said Kabayan is forecast to follow a generally west northwestward path across the Philippine archipelago over the next two days and is likely to maintain its strength until its initial landfall over Mindanao.

Kabayan is likely to make landfall along the coast of Surigao del Sur or Davao Oriental on Sunday night or early morning on Monday. —KG, GMA Integrated News