(PNA file photo by Joan Bondoc)
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has escalated its alert status from blue to red as Typhoon Nando intensified over the Philippine Sea, prompting full-scale emergency measures.
In an advisory issued Saturday, the NDRRMC said Memorandum 245 placed the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center (NDRRMOC) under “red alert,” the highest level of readiness. This status ensures round-the-clock staffing and immediate interagency coordination to address ongoing or imminent emergencies.
Under red alert, detailed duty officers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, and Philippine National Police are deployed, alongside technical staff from agencies such as the Department of Health (DOH).
As of 10 a.m., Typhoon Nando was located 775 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora, packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kph near the center and gusts of up to 150 kph. The system is moving west-northwestward at 10 kph, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
Signal No. 1 is expected to be raised over Northern Luzon and the eastern portion of Central Luzon by Saturday afternoon. PAGASA forecasts that Nando may pass close to or make landfall over Batanes or the Babuyan Islands on Monday afternoon or evening before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Tuesday morning.
