STORM signal No. 2 was raised yesterday in nine areas and No. 1 in 37 others because of now typhoon “Egay” which may affect over 8,000 barangays in 11 regions.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Egay and the southwest monsoon it is enhancing has already affected 3,300 families or 11,185 individuals in 14 barangays in Western Visayas alone.
Of the number, 314 families (1,196 individuals) have been displaced. They are staying at five evacuation centers or with their relatives or friends.
Egay, which intensified into a typhoon on Sunday night, was forecast to further intensify into a super typhoon late Monday or early Tuesday.
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, Egay was some 500 km east of Baler, Aurora, moving north northwestward at 10 kph. It had maximum sustained winds of 155 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 190 kph.
NDRRMC spokesman Edgar Posadas said at least 8,411 barangays in 11 regions might be affected by flooding and rain-induced landslides. He said 2,896 of these barangays are in the Ilocos region and 1,421 in the National Capital Region (Metro Manila). The rest are from the Cordillera Administrative Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas.
Posadas said the number was provided by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
“They overlaid their hazard maps on the forecast of PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) and they came up with the analytics, more or less these are the barangays that will be affected,” said Posadas.
“These are prone to landslides, prone to flooding,” said Posadas.
Posadas urged residents in these areas to listen to their local government officials. He said Egay should be taken seriously, reiterating an earlier forecast that the tropical cyclone may further intensify into a super typhoon.
“They should remain (on alert), this is no joke because it may become a super typhoon… We have to be ready, we have to informed, and we should listen (to authorities),” said Posadas.
“We have to heed the call also of our LGUs… If there is a need for us to evacuate, let us do it so we won’t be fully exposed to its (Egay) effects,” he added.
Posadas assure residents going to evacuation centers will be taken care of by the government.
STORM SIGNALS
PAGASA, in a bulletin issued at 5 p.m. yesterday, said 17 areas were placed under Signal No. 2. These are Catanduanes; eastern portion of Albay; northern portion of Camarines Norte; eastern portion of Camarines Sur; Isabela; northern and central portions of Aurora; Quirino; Cagayan including Babuyan Islands; Apayao; Kalinga; central and eastern portions of Mountain Province; eastern portion of Nueva Vizcaya; eastern portion of Ifugao; central and eastern portions of Abra; Ilocos Norte; Batanes; and northeastern portion of Northern Samar.
Under Signal No. 1 were 34 areas — Sorsogon; Masbate including Ticao Island and Burias Island; rest of Albay, of Aurora, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Abra, Mountain Province, Ifugao, and Nueva Vizcaya; Quezon including Polillo Islands; Benguet; Ilocos Sur; La Union; Pangasinan; Nueva Ecija; Tarlac; Zambales; Bataan, Bulacan; Pampanga; Metro Manila; Rizal; Cavite; Laguna; Marinduque; central and eastern portions of Romblon; northern and central portions of Batangas; Eastern Samar; rest of Northern Samar; Samar; Biliran; northern and central portions of Leyte; northern portion of Cebu, including Bantayan Islands and Camotes Islands.
PAGASA said Egay was “forecast to cross the Luzon Strait and make landfall or pass very close to the Babuyan Islands-Batanes area between Tuesday late evening and Wednesday morning.”
“It must be emphasized that further shift in the track forecast closer to Luzon remains a possibility due to the persistence of the ridge of high pressure north of the typhoon… As such, landfall over the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan is not ruled out,” it also said.
Egay was forecast to continue intensifying until it reaches the super typhoon category late today or early tomorrow.
“However, should the track forecast shift closer to the landmass of Luzon, the typhoon may peak at an intensity just below STY (super typhoon) threshold. Nevertheless, Egay is forecast to become a very strong typhoon,” added PAGASA.
It said Egay may exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Thursday “as it enters the cooler waters southwest and west of Taiwan.”
PAGASA assistant weather services chief Chris Perez said Signal No. 4 or 5 may be declared if Egay becomes a super typhoon.
“We (have areas under) warning signals No. 2 and 1 and we are not ruling out the possibility that we will raise Signal No. 4 and 5,” he said.
“Why? We expect that this will reach the super typhoon category. We are not ruling that out that possibility in the next two or three days,” said Perez.
Perez said Egay and the southwest monsoon are expected to bring rains in many parts of Luzon, the Visayas and even Mindanao.
