CEBU, Philippines - Authorities in the province of Negros Oriental and the capital city of Dumaguete are now gearing up to set in place mitigation measures as Super Typhoon Pablo (international code name Bopha) enters the Philippines Area of Responsibility anytime early this week.
Governor Roel Degamo strongly warns the public to prepare themselves for the entry of the super typhoon in the Philippines, said Adrian Sedillo of the Negros Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC).
According to Sedillo, the governor has advised all local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council coordinators to take the necessary pro-active measures in their respective AORs to minimize the impact of “Bopha”.
Media reports and satellite images show that Negros Oriental and other parts of Central Visayas is in the path of the super typhoon, which is believed to even be more stronger than Tropical Storm Sendong that devastated parts of Mindanao, Dumaguete City and other nearby areas in the province.
Dumaguete Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria, in a telephone interview Sunday, said he will be calling for an emergency meeting first hour on Monday morning to map out a contingency plan before Typhoon Pablo hits the country.
Mayor Sagarbarria said department heads, government line agencies, rescue teams, and barangay captains are being summoned to the meeting to avoid a repeat of the disaster left behind by “Sendong” last December 17, 2011. “Sendong” (international code name Washi) was dubbed by the Philippines’ National Disaster Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) as “the world’s most disastrous typhoon in 2011”.
In Dumaguete and Negros Oriental, thousands of families were displaced by “Sendong”, many lives were lost and millions of pesos in property damaged. Many of the displaced are still reeling from the “Sendong” experience with families whose houses were washed out by the storm still awaiting assistance from the national and local governments, almost a year after it left a trail of destruction in its path.
According to Mayor Sagarbarria, he will be mobilizing as early as late Sunday rescue teams and transportation facilities, as well as directing the City Social Welfare Office to be on standby and prepare food packs and relief goods.
The Dumaguete mayor also said evacuation centers, such as barangay halls and chapels, might have to be used as temporary shelters in the event of flooding and pre-emptive evacuation as public schools are currently being used as accommodation facilities for contingents participating in the week-long Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVRAA) games that reeled off here Sunday.
Fr. Burton Villarmente, director of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Dumaguete, is also hoping a meeting will be held soon to prepare for the typhoon’s arrival in the province.
The Diocese of Dumaguete has been instrumental in the successful implementation of the first phase of a housing project for “Sendong” victims. The Caritas Village Shelter project in Barangay Bajumpandan in Dumaguete City completed and turned over the first 58 of 150 housing units to “Sendong” victims last November 23.
The remaining 92 houses will have to be built once the city government can provide the required lot. The project is jointly undertaken by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA), Caritas, the Diocese of Dumaguete and its Social Action team, and the local government of Dumaguete.
Meanwhile, Mayor Sagarbarria is appealing to residents in low-lying areas that are flood-prone and those living along the banks of the Banica River to undertake the necessary precautionary measures. He said the city government will have to insist on relocating them to safer ground in the coming days when it becomes more evident that Dumaguete City shall be in the direct path of Super Typhoon Bopha.
The mayor lamented that by now, the city government would have had procured two additional rubber boats if his request to the City Council to realign P1.4 million originally intended to purchase a power volume water pump had been approved earlier.
Mayor Sagarbarria is asking residents to stock up on provisions, flashlights, candles, matches, water and other necessities.
Finally, the mayor also appealed to people in Dumaguete to continuously pray that Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) will weaken in intensity in the coming days prior to its entry to the Philippines’ AOR.
“Bopha” was classified by the U.S. Navy and Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Center as a “super typhoon” with maximum winds at 231 kilometers per hour.
Located east of Southern Mindanao, it is expected to enter the Philippine AOR by Sunday evening, a weather bulletin issued Sunday morning by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomic Services Administration (PAG-ASA) said. (FREEMAN)