QUEZON CITY (PIA) — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has strategically deployed nearly 37,000 trained emergency response personnel from different government agencies as Super Typhoon Pepito threatened to slam Bicol region on Saturday, Nov. 16, with severe winds at 185 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 230 kph.
OCD Executive Director Usec. Ariel Nepomuceno said that a total of 36,694 trained emergency response personnel and 2,299 air, water, and land assets have been deployed to areas where Pepito threatens to cause great damage with its torrential rain and typhoon-force winds.
He also said at a briefing with the state weather bureau PAGASA that the combined response force is composed of personnel from the OCD, local government units (LGUs), and from the uniformed services – Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Fire Protection.
Meanwhile, the 2,299 assets also include the navy and the PCG vessels, with rubber boats from LGUs excluded.
Asked about their preparations for Metro Manila, which is also threatened by Pepito, Nepomuceno said that the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) led by its chairman Don Artes, actively participates in National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) meetings.
Nepomuceno added that Metro Manila already has well-oiled protocols and a system for the sharing of information that is cascaded to communities in the metropolis.
Amid Severe Tropical Storm Kristine floods, the OCD, together with other agencies of the government, and LGUs, was able to rescue over 350,000 people, Nepomuceno said.
Super Typhoon Pepito was packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kph near the center, gustiness of up to 230 kph, moving on its west-northwestward track at 25 kph, PAGASA said in its 11 a.m. weather advisory. (PIA DMD)
