By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Acknowledging that climate change has spawned supertyphoons and caused floodings in areas not prone to such disasters, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Director Ariel Nepomuceno on Saturday (16 Nov 2024) said preventive evacuation should be prioritized to save more lives.
The OCD official made the statement as he disclosed the agency’s disaster preparation efforts as the government is anticipating that over 10% of the country’s over a hundred million population would be affected by extreme weather conditions and natural calamities.
“Dahil hindi pa tapos yung pagtugon natin doon sa mga naunang bagyo tuloy tuloy itong papasok na bagyong Pepito karagdagan lang sa ongoing operations natin kaya sa kabuuan kung gagawin natin total numbers were are preparing for 10 million affected individuals,” OCD Executive Director Ariel Nepomuceno said at the Saturday News Forum at Dapo Restaurant in Quezon City.
Nepomuceno was also asked how the government is preparing for “Pepito”, which was projected to make landfall over Catanduanes on Saturday evening or Sunday morning.
“So kailangan ganun ‘yung pagpaplano natin kasi doon din magbabase kung gaano karami yung halimbawa yung family food packs, hygiene kits, medical kits,” the OCD official said.
As Signal No. 4 was raised over Catanduanes and part of northeastern Camarines Sur as “Pepito” intensified into a super typhoon on Saturday, Nepomuceno disclosed that the country’s uniformed personnel are getting ready for their rescue operations.
“Ngayon for the appreciation of everyone ilan ba ‘yung kakayanan natin sa buong bansa from the uniformed services. Ibig sabhin from the Army, PAF, Navy, including PCG at BFP. Sa kabuuan yung tinatawag nating SRR teams sa buong bansa meron tayong 1,282 SRR (search, rescue, and retrieval) teams. Sa kabuuan niyan meron tayong for this 13,857 personnel dedicated dito sa ating sunod sunod na bagyo,” Nepomuceno said.
ia/mnm