Western Visayas on red alert due to ‘Karding,’ ‘habagat’


ILOILO CITY – Western Visayas is under red alert status due to super typhoon “Karding” and the southwest monsoon or habagat.

The Western Visayas Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC-6) held a virtual meeting on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 25, to activate the RDRRMC-6 Emergency Operations Center.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-6 Director Jose Roberto Nuñez, RDRMMC-6 chairperson, issued a memorandum directing the activation of the RDRRMC-6 Emergency Operations Center.

State weather bureau PAGASA has not placed any area in Western Visayas under any storm signal as of posting time.

The RDRRMC-6 also activated the “Charlie Protocol,” the highest Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) protocol for five of the six provinces in the region.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)-6 has classified Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental as high risk or susceptible to landslide and flooding. Capiz was classified as moderate risk.

The RDRRMC-6 instructed all DRRMs in the six provinces as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod to closely monitor respective areas and coordinate with the RDRRMC-6 and the other concerned government agencies.