Get ready for relief, rescue drive, DILG tells local execs
AS tropical cyclone “Goring” is set to become a super typhoon, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Sunday urged local chief executives in Cagayan Valley and in other affected regions to be ready in full scale relief and rescue actions in accordance with the Department’s Operation Listo disaster preparedness manual.
At the same time, the DILG directed its office in Region 2 to activate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Disaster Online Reporting and Monitoring System (DORMS) to ensure they can adhere to local government units (LGUs) within their jurisdiction to Operation L!STO Disaster protocols.
The DILG urged them to convene their local disaster risk reduction and management councils (DRRMCs); conduct pre-disaster risk assessment for floods and other hazards; activate their barangay DRRMCs for early warning and monitoring of landslide zones; and assess the structural integrity of evacuation areas.
“The safety of our people is primordial. Hence, affected LGUs must implement preemptive evacuation when necessary, prioritize the health and safety of all response personnel and evacuees and preposition supplies and equipment,” said DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos.
LGUs were also reminded to continuously inform and advise affected communities of situation updates and intensify the use of social media platforms for public information, among others.
Based on the latest weather advisory, “Goring,” which was estimated at 195 kilometers east of Calayan, Cagayan, will enhance the Southwest Monsoon affecting Central and Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Heavy to intense rains are expected in Cagayan, Isabela, and Aurora. Moderate to heavy with at times intense rains are also expected in Batanes, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Kalinga, Quirino and Apayao.
Meanwhile, the DILG urged concerned LGUs to monitor and undertake necessary critical preparedness actions in 1,481 barangays from Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Western Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula which the Mines and Geosciences Bureau identified to have high to very high susceptibility to floods and rain-induced landslides.
