The Bicol Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) has raised its alert status to red as Tropical Storm Opong (international name Bualoi) threatens to bring floods, landslides, and lahar flows.
OCD-Bicol Director Claudio Yucot, who chairs the council, said all provincial, city, and municipal DRRMCs, along with disaster response clusters, must prepare for possible preemptive evacuations.
“As a result of our pre-disaster risk assessment, we issued Memorandum No. 62, raising the alert status to red. We are also checking our communication systems, and response clusters must prepare for preemptive evacuations, as well as ensure that their corresponding evacuation centers are ready,” Yucot said Wednesday.
He directed response clusters to preposition assets, including those from the Philippine Army, Air Force, Navy, PNP, and Coast Guard. Agencies such as the DOH, DSWD, DICT, DPWH, DILG, and the Office of Civil Defense were also activated for support.
Yucot reminded LGUs to prepare evacuation centers, clear drainage systems, trim trees along major roads, and strictly monitor communities in flood- and landslide-prone areas.
“It is important to alert residents in landslide-prone, flood-prone, and coastal areas at risk of storm surges to prepare for possible evacuation. Immediate dissemination of weather bulletins and advisories to all Barangay DRRM Committees is essential for prompt information sharing in the communities,” he stressed.
The RDRRMC also recommended a no-sailing policy for small fishing and motorized passenger boats starting Thursday.