BATANES province and the northeastern portion of Babuyan Islands in Cagayan were placed under Signal No. 1 yesterday due to super typhoon “Henry.”
Meanwhile, tropical depression “Gardo” weakened into a low pressure area (LPA) at around 8 a.m. yesterday as it interacted with Henry.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), in a bulletin issued at 5 p.m. yesterday, said Henry was some 400 km east northeast of Itbayat, Batanes as of 4 p.m.
Henry was packing maximum winds of 185 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph. It is moving south southwestward at 15 kph.
“On the forecast track, Henry may exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Saturday evening or Sunday morning,” PAGASA said.
PAGASA senior weather specialist Raymond Ordinario, in a press briefing, said they are not seeing a landfall scenario for Henry which he said may become almost stationary before moving slowly northwestward this afternoon and eventually accelerating northward on Saturday.
PAGASA said Henry was expected to bring moderate to heavy rains to Batanes and Babuyan Islands today. Tomorrow, there will be moderate to heavy rains in Batanes and light to moderate with at times heavy rains in Babuyan Islands.
“Under these conditions, isolated to scattered flooding (including flash floods) and rain-induced landslides are possible especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps, and in localities with significant antecedent rainfall,” said PAGASA.
PAGASA also said Henry is forecast to enhance the southwest monsoon which may bring rains in the western section of Luzon starting today.
It said it is not ruling out declaring Signal No. 2 in Batanes and Babuyan Islands.
The Office of Civil Defense in Cagayan Valley said while Henry is not making landfall, the province is prepared for rains and winds from Henry.
“As per PAGASA, it is not expected to make landfall but we are monitoring the rains and winds associated with it,” said OCD-Cagayan information officer Michael Conag.
Conag said evacuation centers have been prepared in case there will be people who will be displaced by the weather disturbance.
Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo reminded the department’s regional officers to always be prepared not just with prepositioned relief packs but also in becoming “first responders” to communities in need.
Tulfo led a virtual situational briefing with the regional directors of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Regions I (Ilocos), II (Cagayan valley), III (Central Luzon) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) late Wednesday in anticipation of the onslaught of Gardo and Henry.
“I want to make sure that regions that will be affected by the incoming typhoons Henry, we’re all prepared and ready. I don’t want that we be caught flat-footed,” he said.
Based on the briefing, the DSWD CAR has 55,378 family food packs (FFPs) on standby in the warehouses and 33,830 FFPs deployed to provinces in the region. The region also has P5.2 million worth of funds on standby.
DSWD Region I said it has 22,064 FFP and 11,664 non-food relief items (NFRIs) on standby and at least a thousand FFPs were being delivered to each province between Wednesday and Thursday.
DSWD Region II said 29,075 FFPs and 5,010 NFRIs are on standby and ready for deployment along with P4.4 million worth of standby funds. At least 22,561 FFPs have been prepositioned to provinces in the region.
DSWD Region III said 16,145 FFPs and 3,683 RFNIs are on standby along with a P5-million fund. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
