Severe Tropical Storm “Nika” is expected to tread the same path that Typhoon “Marce” took, putting at risk 2,500 barangays in Ilocos Region (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) that were already battered by heavy rains and punishing winds last week. As if that is not enough, two more potential typhoons are likely to form until next week, threatening to barrel through Northern Luzon.
This was revealed by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla during a press conference at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Operations Center in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Sunday, Nov. 10.
“There is an impending crisis at hand. Typhoon Nika will follow the same path as Typhoon Marce,” Remulla said. “We cannot state it enough that those 2,500 barangays are in the direct path of the storm [where] we are expecting up to 700 millimeters (mm) of rain in the next seven days.”
Marce has just left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Friday, Nov. 8, while Nika entered PAR on Saturday, Nov. 9.
As of 1 p.m. Sunday, Nika was last seen 425 km. east of Infanta, Quezon, packing maximum sustained winds of 110 km per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of 135 kph.
It was moving westward at 30 kph, and is expected to make landfall over Isabela or Aurora on Monday, Nov. 11.
The DILG chief said that 250,000 food packs were already prepositioned by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which will be distributed to the would-be victims of Nika.
A total of 1.3 million family food packs are at the national stockpile of the DSWD while total standby fund for response is at P115 million.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) were also notified for the possible use of its aerial, land, and naval assets for relief transportation. On standby are two C-130s, four Black Hawk helicopters, and three Bell choppers from the AFP, as well as five helicopters from PNP.
Various airlines were also contacted for their cargo planes to be put on notice in case there is a need for evacuation and transportation of relief aid and support services.
Search, rescue, and retrieval (SRR) teams from various government agencies were also placed on standby.
Remulla said a mandatory evacuation has already been advised in the barangays that might be hit by Nika beginning on Sunday night.
“We have informed all the mayors and all the governors to inform the barangays that need to evacuate immediately. The DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] has identified the barangays most prone to landslides and floods. The response should be immediate,” he said.
“We have 16 hours to respond. We have 16 hours to evacuate. We are prepared on the ground as far as national agencies and quick responders are concerned but it’s a matter of cooperation among the population. If a mandatory evacuation is ordered, take it seriously because we don’t want a repeat of what happened in Batangas,” he added, referring to the deadly landslides that struck Batangas during the onslaught of Kristine.
‘Ofel and Pepito’
While Nika has yet to hit mainland Luzon, the national government has spotted two more vortices that may develop into typhoons.
The first cluster of clouds was spotted 2,175 km east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar as of 1 p.m. Sunday outside PAR. After Nika leaves, the first vortex is expected to enter PAR and will be called “Ofel”. By Nov. 14 to 15, it will hit Luzon landmass while moving at a same direction as Nika and Marce.
Further, the second vortex is forecast to enter PAR next week. It will be named “Pepito” and is expected to make landfall between Nov. 16 to 17.
“The greatest threat for us from Monday (Nov. 11) to Sunday next week (Nov. 17) is the occurrence of landslides,” Remulla said. “The soil has already been saturated due to Marce, Kristine, and Leon before. The possibility of landslide is really high.”