The Philippine National Police (PNP) urged the people living along the path of typhoon ‘Rolly’ to heed the disaster preparedness plan of the local government units (LGUs), particularly in evacuating to safer places, to save themselves from the wrath of the weather disturbance.
PNP spokesman Col. Ysmael Yu specifically identified those living in coastal areas as prone to danger following the forecast of weather experts that the typhoon is packing a super-typhoon-level strength that could trigger as high as three meters storm surge.
“This kind of strong typhoon is something that is not new to us. We have seen the devastation during the typhoon Yolanda especially in human lives when more than 6,000 people were confirmed dead,” said Yu.
“Let us learn from typhoon Yolanda. Let us follow what the experts from PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration) are advising us because they know better,” he added.
Thousands of policemen have been ordered to assist in forced evacuation and other disaster-preparedness measures particularly of the LGUs and local offices of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The PNP leadership also instructed local commanders of the affected areas and near the affected areas to preposition equipment that may be used later for clearing roads, as well as food banks for immediate assistance to the affected population.
‘Rolly’ is expected to make a landfall between the provinces of Quezon and Aurora either late Sunday night or early morning of Monday. Except for Masbate, the Bicol Region is now under storm Signal number 2.
Metro Manila and other areas which were devastated by ‘Quinta’ are now under storm signal number 1.
But despite the warnings, Yu said there are still other people who would not leave their houses and go to safe places identified by the LGUs as evacuation centers.
He said that in most cases, it is the hard-headed people who endanger their lives and their family.
Yu added that there were cases in the past that those who did not heed the evacuation calls also endangered the lives of the rescuers that included policemen as they ended up asking for help to be evacuated at the height of a flooding.
In 2013, those who heeded the calls of local NDRRMC officials to evacuate to safer grounds became safe from the wrath of Yolanda.
Most of those who died drowned as a result of the flooding triggered by the storm surge as high as a two-storey building. The strong storm surge was spawned by strong winds at the level of super-typhoon, or those with more than 250 kilometers per hour winds and gustiness.
Among the units alerted were the Special Action Force (SAF), Maritime Group (MarGrp), Highway Patrol Group (HPG), Police Community Affairs and Development Group (PCADG), the Regional Mobile Force Battalions (RMFB) and Provincial and City Mobile Force Companies (MFC).
“They were instructed to coordinate closely with local disaster management officials and LGUs for possible enforcement of forced evacuation in areas threatened by storm surge, flooding, and landslide,” said Yu.