TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) - - Member-agencies of the  Cagayan Valley Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CVDRRMC) were in full attendance today in  a virtual meeting in order to discuss region-wide preparations for the impending arrival of Super Typhoon Mawar in northeast Luzon.

Convened by the Office of Civil Defense - Region 2, government agencies presented information and updates in their respective functions in response to the projected effects of the said super typhoon.

Rome Ganal of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) relayed that Mawar will enter the Philippine area of responsibility between tonight, May 26, and tomorrow morning, May 27, and will move closer to the direction of Extreme Northern Luzon towards the east of the Babuyan and Batanes islands until Tuesday next week.

According to Ganal, Mawar is forecast to reach its peak intensity of 220 kilometers per hour within 24 hours and may slightly weaken, but will remain as a super typhoon until Monday. He added that Mawar will continue to weaken into a typhoon by late Monday evening or Tuesday.

As such, the whole of Northern Luzon will experience heavy rains beginning Sunday, May 28, with Batanes possibly experiencing torrential rainfall, while Cagayan and Isabela, moderate to intense and moderate at times heavy rainfall. Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino are predicted to experience chances of cloud formation or rainfall occurrence.

In relation to PAGASA’s report, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, represented by Aina Claravall, reported 33 barangays– four in Cagayan and the rest in Batanes, that are susceptible to landslides. The four barangays in Cagayan are all within the Municipality of Calayan.

The Provincial DDRMCs of Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino have presented their readiness for any pre-emptive evacuation measures in identified flood-prone areas within their respective jurisdictions. These include the Babuyan Islands and northern coastal towns in Cagayan,  northern towns and the four coastal municipalities of Isabela, and flood-prone barangays near the Cagayan River in Quirino. In Nueva Vizcaya, 15 evacuation centers and 610 temporary shelters have already been activated.

On the other hand, the Philippine Coast Guard has already issued a No Sailing and No Fishing Policy for fishing and cargo boats, and has advised sea vessels to take shelter in designated areas in Aparri and Sta. Ana, Cagayan.

Updates from the Search, Rescue and Retrieval Cluster, headed by the Joint Task Force TALA, included the transportation of DSWD Family Food Packs from Tuguegarao City to Basco, Batanes, as well as the mustering of personnel and equipment for potential search and rescue and retrieval in identified areas across the region.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology has already prepositioned and readied communications facilities across the region, including certain areas provided with free wi-fi.

The public is advised to prepare, anticipate updates, and abide by the regulations set by the government with regard to the arrival of super typhoon Mawar. (JKC/PIA-2)