People take shelter inside a evacuation centre after evacuating from their homes due to super-typhoon Hagupit in Surigao city, southern Philippines, Dec. 5, 2014.
MANILA—
Typhoon Hagupit has made landfall in the Philippines, hitting the coast with intense rain and wind gusts of 210 kilometers per hour.
The storm is reported to have hit the town of Dolores in East Samar late on Saturday.
Emergency managers are shoring up efforts for what they hope will be a seamless disaster response.
The Office of Civil Defense says more than 600,000 people have gone to evacuation centers and the government continues to prod more residents to leave vulnerable areas. With emergency relief and basic necessities such as sanitation kits and blankets being distributed, preparations are now shifting to how to deal with the aftermath of typhoon Hagupit.
Civil Defense Head Alexander Pama says disaster management planners are heeding President Benigno Aquino’s orders.
“We continue to follow the instructions of the president, given that we check and recheck and review… that the things that need to be done have been done, review the check-off list,” said Pama.
At a recent meeting with the country’s disaster council the president emphasized the urgent need to close gaps - such as making sure vulnerable residents were not only evacuated but moved to structures that could withstand powerful storms.
The urgency to get the response right is high on government official’s minds since the central Philippines has only begun to recover from a highly destructive super typhoon that hit 13 months ago. Haiyan, the most powerful tropical cyclone on record, left millions homeless and more than 7,300 people dead or missing.
Local forecasters have downgraded typhoon Hagupit’s wind strength, but it is still considered a major typhoon capable of generating 4-meter storm surges. And they say Hagupit will affect more than half of the country’s provinces in a central band across the Philippines. Manila, along the storm’s track, will not be spared.
What is particularly worrisome to some first responders like Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon is Hagupit’s expansive coverage of 700 kilometers.
“It’s gonna be rain and floods and landslides and all that,” said Gordon. "This is a whole, full-service menu that is being served up by nature. [It] can even remobilize the lahars of Mayon volcano and even as far as Kanlaon.”
Mayon and Kanlaon volcanoes are within the areas that will feel the impact of Hagupit. Mayon has been showing signs of activity since the end of summer.
Gordon says for this storm his agency is augmenting its volunteer force and adding more debris-clearing equipment.
The military is expected to reinforce police forces that will secure urban centers. And there is strong emphasis on working cooperatively with regional and local emergency responders.
Armed Forces Chief General Gregorio Catapang says the military and other government agencies will need to work closely together.
“There’s really a coordination and collaboration so that… resources… will be pooled together so that we will not waste time, resources in giving immediate assistance to those who will be ravaged by the typhoon,” said Catapang.
Forecasters say Hagupit will linger in the country through Wednesday. |
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