Baguio City declares code red amid Typhoon Pepito

The local government of Baguio City has declared a code red status amid the threat of Typhoon Pepito (international name: Min-Yi), with authorities monitoring residences in landslide- and flood-prone areas as the city remains under tropical cyclone wind signal (TCWS) 4.

According to Baguio City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) head Charles Carame, they have already evacuated residents of areas prone to landslides such as Barangay Dominican Mirador.

“Kapag na-reach na ‘yung oversturation ng lupa, ‘yun talaga nagiging problema namin [Once the soil is oversaturated, that really becomes a problem],” he said in a report by Darlene Cay on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong raised the “Code Red” alert status at 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 17, convening members of the disaster response teams at the Smart Cot Command Center for monitoring and faster dispatch.

“We are on high alert in ensuring the safety of the community. Please call 911 for any emergencies,” he said in a post on the social media page of the city’s Public information Office.

The local government also made rounds on flood-prone areas such as Barangay Lower Rock Quarry, as the City Camp Lagoon may overflow.

The city has suspended classes in all levels for both public and private educational institutions on Monday, November 18, along with the half-day suspension for work in government offices except for those involving the delivery of basic and health services, disaster response, and other vital services.

It also suspended the vehicle number coding, along with the postponement of the Civil Engineers Licensure Examination (CELE) in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The latest update from the state weather bureau PAGASA indicates that Pepito weakened into a typhoon, with the center of the eye last estimated in the vicinity of Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya moving west northwestward at 25 kilometers per hour (kph).

It was packing maximum sustained winds of 165 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 275 kph, and is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Monday morning or noon. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA Integrated News