Pepito rapidly intensifies into typhoon

MANILA, Philippines — Cyclone Pepito may reach super typhoon category with its rapid intensification over the eastern seaboard of the country as it is expected to traverse Southern Luzon tonight, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

It could make landfall in the vicinity of Catanduanes tonight or early Sunday morning but its path could still shift.

Pepito (international name Man-Yi) was last monitored at 465 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, moving west-northwestward at 30 km per hour.

It was packing maximum sustained winds of 150 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 185 kph.

The cyclone is forecast to pass over the landmass of Bicol Region, Quezon province, Central Luzon and Pangasinan.

However, PAGASA said Pepito may still pass over other parts of the country, including the eastern coast of Camarines Sur, Albay or Sorsogon, or even the eastern coast of Northern Samar today.

A landfall scenario over the eastern coast of Quezon province or Aurora on Sunday is also not ruled out.

It will emerge over the West Philippine Sea by Sunday evening or Monday morning.

“It must be emphasized that heavy rainfall, severe winds and storm surge may still be experienced in localities outside the landfall point and the forecast confidence cone,” PAGASA said.

Tropical cyclone wind signal No. 2 has been raised over the eastern portion of Northern Samar, the northern portion of Eastern Samar and the northeastern portion of Samar.

Signal No. 1 was raised over Aurora, Quezon, eastern portion of Laguna, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate, as well as the rest of Northern Samar, the rest of Eastern Samar, the rest of Samar and Biliran.

Meanwhile, Ofel weakened into a severe tropical storm as it exited the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday afternoon.

It was still packing maximum sustained winds of 100 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 125 kph when monitored 205 km west of Itbayat, Batanes.

Signal No. 1 was still raised over Batanes as Ofel was forecast to recurve toward the sea southwest of Taiwan last night.

It will further weaken throughout the forecast period due to the increasingly unfavorable environment and interaction with the mountainous terrain of Taiwan and be downgraded into a remnant low-pressure area by Sunday.

Pepito preparations

President Marcos appealed to the public yesterday to brace for the worst from Pepito, which is expected to pummel parts of the country beginning today.

Marcos called for a meeting at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Quezon City to heighten the government’s preparations for the incoming typhoon.

“We have to get them to the high ground. It’s not enough to move them away from the sea. That’s the only thing that we can do when there is a storm surge,” the President said.

“We must remember all the lessons we learned from previous incidents of storm surge and we have to provide guidance to our local executives so that they know what to do and how to protect themselves against possible storm surges,” he added.

“If it is inevitable that it would strengthen, the warnings that we are giving out should be already in the worst case scenario,” he further stated.

Science Secretary Renato Solidum urged disaster managers and local government units (LGUs) to closely monitor PAGASA updates as forecast tracks presented during the meeting may rapidly change as the typhoon moves closer to the country.

Office of Civil Defense director Agnes Palacio said all areas along the path of Pepito have been provided with their respective “worst case scenarios.”

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said there will be forced evacuation in areas where storm surges might occur.

“The mandatory evacuation will be done in coastal areas of Eastern Visayas, Bicol Region, Calabarzon and Cagayan Valley starting Friday night,” Remulla told reporters after the meeting with the President.

At least 4,654 Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel were mobilized for disaster-response operations in areas that would be potentially hit by Pepito.

Of the number, up to 1,374 police officers are in Bicol, which is still reeling from the effects of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.

Bicol police director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon said 1,025 police officers are on standby for search and rescue operations while 349 other personnel are members of their reactionary standby support force (RSSF).

Meanwhile, the National Capital Region Police Office has deployed 400 police officers in vital installations throughout Metro Manila, NCRPO public information officer Maj. Myrna Diploma said in an interview over dzBB radio.

Diploma said 600 members of their RSSF are on standby and ready to respond to emergencies related to the typhoon.

“We’ll deploy more police depending on what will happen during the typhoon,” she said.

She added police officers are securing 598 evacuation centers that were set up by local government units in preparation for Pepito.

In Central Luzon, Police Regional Office 3 director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan said they have deployed 980 personnel as part of their search and rescue contingent.

At least 1,300 police officers are also on standby in Calabarzon, regional police spokesperson Lt. Col. Chitadel Gaoiran said in a text message.

Quezon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office announced yesterday that pre-emptive and forced evacuation will be strictly implemented in towns near danger such as flooding, landslides and storm surge that may be caused by Pepito.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said on Thursday that Bicol International Airport officials and personnel are securing the airport against the typhoon forecast to hit Bicol.

CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said that preparations include communication facilities, terminal equipment such as machinery, vehicles, office equipment, paraphernalia and important documents.

Dam officials in Northern Luzon continued to release water in three Luzon dams amid the rains brought by tropical cyclones Ofel and Pepito.

As of 8 a.m. yesterday, two gates of Magat Dam in Isabela were opened at three meters and started releasing water at 745.61 cubic meters per second (cms) after it reached 185.43 meters or 7.57 meters below its normal high water level of 193 meters.

One gate of Ambuklao Dam in Benguet was opened at 0.3 meters and released water at 60.08 cms after it reached 751.35 meters or 0.65 meters below its normal high water level of 752 meters.

Meanwhile, one gate of Binga Dam in Benguet was also opened at 0.3 meters and released water at 104.9 cms after it released 574.47 meters or 0.53 meters below its normal high water level of 575 meters.

Thousands stranded

A total of 2,095 people remain stranded in ports in the Bicol region and the Visayas as Pepito continues to threaten the country.

The figure included stranded passengers, truck drivers and cargo helpers, according to a report from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) as of 4 p.m. yesterday.

The PCG also reported that aside from people, 681 rolling cargoes or vehicles and two vessels were stranded while 79 ships and two motor bancas took shelter.

From the total figures, 1,336 people, 442 rolling cargoes and two vessels were stuck in 12 ports across Bicol and 69 vessels and two motor bancas took shelter.

Meanwhile, 759 other people, 239 rolling cargoes and five vessels were grounded in three ports in Eastern Visayas, as well as 10 vessels taking shelter.

The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) announced some sea voyages were canceled as of 6 p.m. yesterday.

Included in the cancellations were trips of Starlite Ferries from Batangas to Calapan, Oriental Mindoro and Roxas City in Capiz, Sibuyan and Romblon.

All sea trips including roll-on roll-off or RORO from Batangas to Calapan and Puerto Galera in Oriental Mindoro; all trips to and from Matnog and Bulan in Sorsogon, Baseport Legazpi in Albay, San Andres and Virac in Catanduanes in Bicol region and all trips to and from Masbate are also canceled.

The PPA also announced trip cancellations in routes between Caticlan and Batangas, Roxas City in Capiz and Batangas, the northeastern portion of Eastern Samar province, areas under PCG’s watch in Northern Samar province, in Biliran and between Cebu and Baybay, Leyte.

PPA general manager Jay Santiago, through a memorandum issued yesterday, appealed to LGUs projected to be hit by Pepito to fetch the stranded passengers and cargo crew from seaports and bring them to evacuation centers as they may face “dangers of storm surges” brought by the typhoon on the seaports. — Emmanuel Tupas, Ghio Ong, Bella Cariaso, Rudy Santos, Ed Amoroso, Michelle Zoleta, Helen Flores