The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) convened Sunday morning, Sept. 25, to iron out all the preparations before Super Typhoon “Karding” (international name: Noru) makes landfall Sunday night.
Senior Undersecretary Jose Faustino Jr., NDRRMC chairman and Department of National Defense (DND) officer in charge, presided over the Council meeting around 10 a.m. at the NDRRMC Building in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
The meeting was attended by member-agencies of the NDRRMC, and regional counterparts.
“The highest emergency preparedness and response protocol has been activated in NCR , Central Luzon (Region 3), Calabarzon (Region 4A), Mimaropa (Region 4B), and Bicol (Region 5),” the NDRRMC said.
The NDRRMC also activated a virtual emergency operations center (EOC) to monitor the situation in the areas that are on the typhoon’s path, and coordinate the response of government agencies.
Other details of the meeting are yet to be disclosed but the NDRRMC earlier reminded local government units (LGUs) to conduct pre-emptive evacuation especially in areas that are prone to flooding and landslides.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) also alerted all its units to minimize casualties at sea and prepositioned its deployable response groups to the LGUs.
“Coordination with shipping companies and fishing communities has also been done. We have advised shipping companies to have their ships proceed to sheltering areas,” said PCG spokesperson Commo. Armando Balilo.
According to PCG, a total of 1,212 individuals were stranded in 17 ports in Southern Tagalog and Bicol Region as of 8 a.m.
There were also 297 rolling cargoes, 28 vessels, and 13 motorbancas that were stranded in these areas while 30 sea vessels and eight motorbancas took shelter to avoid damage when the typhoon hits.
Karding has intensified into a super typhoon and according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), it may make landfall over southern portion of Aurora or northern portion of Quezon on Sunday night.