Pepito reaching catastrophic-level intensity – PAGASA

MANILA, Philippines — A super typhoon barreling towards the country was intensifying and could have a “potentially catastrophic” impact, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) yesterday warned, with millions of people at risk from storm surges.

More than 650,000 people have fled their homes ahead of Super Typhoon Pepito (Man-yi), which was expected to make landfall late yesterday or early today, becoming the sixth major storm to pummel the country in the past month.

With wind gusts of up to 240 kilometers per hour, Pepito was on track to slam into the sparsely populated island province of Catanduanes as a super typhoon or “near peak intensity,” PAGASA warned.

“Potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation looms for northeastern Bicol region as Super Typhoon Pepito further intensifies,” the forecaster said in its latest update.

Up to 46-foot high seas were expected around Catanduanes, while more than 7.6 million people were at risk from storm surges of one to three meters, PAGASA said.

Wind signal No. 4 is up over the northeastern portion of Camarines Sur and the northeastern portion of Albay.

Signal No. 3 was hoisted over Polillo Islands, the southeastern portion of mainland Quezon, Camarines Norte, the rest of Camarines Sur, the rest of Albay and the northern portion of Sorsogon, as well as the eastern and central portions of Northern Samar and the northern portion of Eastern Samar.

Signal No. 2 was raised over the southern portion of Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, the eastern portion of Pangasinan, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Tarlac, Pampanga, the southern portion of Zambales, Bataan, Metro Manila, Rizal, the rest of Quezon, Laguna, Cavite, Marinduque, Burias Island and Ticao Island.

The same signal was raised over the central portion of Eastern Samar, the northern portion of Samar and the rest of Northern Samar.

PAGASA said signal No. 1 was raised over Mainland Cagayan, the rest of Isabela, Apayao, Kalinga, Abra, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, the rest of Pangasinan, the rest of Zambales, Batangas, the northern portion of Occidental Mindoro, including Lubang Islands, the northern portion of Oriental Mindoro, Romblon and the rest of Masbate.

Signal No. 1 was also raised over the rest of Eastern Samar, the rest of Samar, Biliran, the northern and central portions of Leyte, the northeastern portion of Southern Leyte, the northernmost portion of Cebu, including Bantayan Islands and the northernmost portion of Iloilo, as well as the northern portion of Dinagat Islands.

At least 163 people died in the five storms that pounded the Philippines in recent weeks that also left thousands homeless and wiped out crops and livestock.

Evacuation

The government urged people yesterday to heed warnings to flee to safety. “If preemptive evacuation is required, let us do so and not wait for the hour of peril before evacuating or seeking help, because if we did that we will be putting in danger not only our lives but also those of our rescuers,” Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Marlo Iringan said.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said more than 40,000 families from various localities in provinces expected to be hit by Pepito heeded the government’s call for pre-emptive evacuation.

“As of 7 a.m. today (Saturday), we have received reports that 43,623 families, or 134,653 individuals, agreed to the forced evacuation implemented by the local government units (LGUs) to ensure their safety,” OCD administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said at a press briefing.

He also said they had already prepared emergency response items, including family food packs and hygiene kits.

“On top of that, we have 36,694 uniformed personnel on standby for search, rescue and relief operations, and a total of 2,299 land vehicles, watercraft and Navy vessels ready for deployment,” he said.

He urged residents in storm surge and landslide-prone areas in the path of Pepito to heed the government’s call to evacuate.

“It’s more dangerous now for those in landslide-prone areas because the ground has been saturated by the consecutive typhoons,” Nepomuceno warned.

He also warned of the dangers posed by the projected peak height of storm surges, reaching two to three meters in low-lying or exposed coastal localities.

“We aim for zero casualty with Pepito. We’ve undergone massive preparations in Regions 1, 2, Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions 3, 4-A, 8 and CALABARZON,” Nepomuceno stated.

In Legazpi City, Myrna Perea was sheltering with her fruit vendor husband and their three children in a school classroom with nine other families after they were ordered to leave their shanty.

Conditions were hot and cramped – the family spent Friday night sleeping together on a mat under the classroom’s single ceiling fan – but Perea said it was better to be safe.

“I think our house will be wrecked when we get back because it’s made of light materials – just two gusts are required to knock it down,” Perea, 44, said.

“That’s why we evacuated. Even if the house is destroyed, the important thing is we do not lose a family member.”

Climate change

Scientists have warned climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people, but it is rare for such multiple weather events to take place in a small window.

Evacuation centers were filling up on Catanduanes island in the typhoon-prone Bicol region, with the weather forecaster warning of “widespread incidents of severe flooding and landslides.”

More than 400 people were squeezed into the provincial government building in the capital Virac, with new arrivals being sent to a gymnasium, provincial disaster officer Roberto Monterola said.

Monterola said he had dispatched soldiers to force about 100 households in two coastal villages near Virac to move inland due to fears storm surges could swamp their homes.

“Regardless of the exact landfall point, heavy rainfall, severe winds and storm surges may occur in areas outside the predicted landfall zone,” PAGASA said.

The Naga City government imposed a curfew from midday yesterday in a bid to force residents indoors.

In Northern Samar province, disaster officer Rei Josiah Echano lamented that damage caused by typhoons was the root cause of poverty in the region.

“Whenever there’s a typhoon like this, it brings us back to the mediaeval era, we go (back) to square one,” Echano told AFP, as the province prepared for the onslaught of Pepito.

All vessels – from fishing boats to oil tankers – have been ordered to stay in port or return to shore. Nearly 4,000 people were stranded after the coast guard shut 55 ports.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology also warned heavy rain dumped by Pepito could trigger flows of volcanic sediment, or lahars, from three volcanos, including Taal in Batangas.

The Philippine Ports Authority said all sea trips to Batangas, Calapan and Puerto Galera in Mindoro, various areas in Bicol region, Masbate, Panay Island and Guimaras, Eastern Leyte and Samar, Leyte province and Biliran, Quezon province and the Port of Manila had been cancelled as of 6 a.m yesterday.

The Catholic Church’s humanitarian agency Caritas Philippines said it would be “mobilizing resources for emergency preparedness,” while dioceses in the super typhoon’s path “are coordinating with local government units for disaster preparedness and response.”

“Caritas Philippines is ready to extend our hands to those in need. Let us open our hearts and share whatever we can to uplift those who will be most affected,” said Caritas Philippines president and Kidapawan Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo.

Pepito will hit the Philippines late in the typhoon season, as most cyclones develop between July and October.

Earlier this month, four storms were clustered simultaneously in the Pacific basin, which the Japan Meteorological Agency told AFP yesterday was the first time such an occurrence had been observed in November since its records began in 1951. — Michael Punongbayan, Ghio Ong