MANILA, Philippines — Say prayers, prepare and brace for the worst.

With a more powerful storm threatening the country, officials on Thursday issued this advice to the public as Metro Manila and neighboring areas continued to reel from the devastation wrought by Tropical Storm “Ondoy.”

The weather office said Typhoon “Pepeng” (international name: Parma) could develop into a supertyphoon within the next 24 hours and would not weaken even if it made landfall.

“Keep glued to the radio and TV (for information), prepare for the strong rains and let’s all pray ... let’s hope it doesn’t become stronger,” said Nathaniel Cruz, deputy director for operations of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

Pepeng is expected to make landfall in the provinces of Aurora and Isabela in northern Luzon by Saturday morning.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, the eye of Pepeng was spotted 440 kilometers east of Catarman, Northern Samar. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kph with gustiness of up to 230 kph and moving west northwest at 24 kph.

Storm Signal No. 4

Pagasa said it could raise public Storm Signal No. 4 over northern Luzon Friday night if Pepeng continued to strengthen.

Storm Signal No. 4 means winds of up to 215 kph over a region, according to Pagasa Director Prisco Nilo.

Nilo said Pepeng could reach the category of supertyphoon at 215 kph or more by noon or afternoon Saturday. “But this could change. It may still slow down, weaken or become stationary.”

Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) at its height packed maximum center winds of 85 kph.

“It’s possible that we will have to raise Storm Signal No. 4 over Northern Luzon by Friday at around 11 p.m.,” Nilo told reporters.

Not since Supertyphoon “Reming” in 2006, which devastated the Bicol region, especially Albay province, has Storm Signal No. 4 been raised over any part of the country.

Disaster relief response teams

As part of the preparations, the Philippine Navy Thursday said that disaster relief response teams, equipped with rubber boats, portable generators, M35 trucks and life-saving kits, had been fielded in the provinces of Cagayan, La Union, Pangasinan and Zambales.

Each team consisted of 15 enlisted personnel, according to Navy spokesperson Lt. Col. Egdard Arevalo. Naval reservists residing in Cagayan, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija have been placed on alert status, he said.

Warnings from Teodoro

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., head of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), spent the whole day Thursday visiting provinces to deliver warnings and inform local officials of steps to take when Pepeng strikes the country.

Teodoro and other government officials met with local civil defense coordinators across Metro Manila before he flew to La Union, Tuguegarao and Pampanga.

Teodoro stressed the need for local government units to identify temporary shelters and take preemptive evacuation of people in vulnerable areas to prevent further casualties.

At the Clark Freeport, Teodoro said people who would refuse evacuation when told should not expect that they would be given priority in rescue operations when Pepeng strikes.

He said children, especially infants, would be taken from their parents or guardians who refused evacuation.

Oratio Imperata

As Pepeng moves toward Luzon, Auxiliary Bishop Lucilo Quiambao of the Archdiocese of Legazpi encouraged Filipinos to pray the “Oratio Imperata For Deliverance From Calamities.”

The prayer was said to have helped spare Albay from typhoons and disasters since Supertyphoon “Reming” struck almost three years ago.

The prayer has been recited since October 2007 in all the churches in the diocese during Mass. “Many have already asked for a copy of the prayer and it has already reached the United States,” Quiambao said.

He asked that the prayer be recited in the parishes, homes and communities.

Signal No. 1 in Bicol

At 11 p.m. Thursday, Pagasa raised Storm Signal No. 2 over Catanduanes, and Storm Signal No. 1 over Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Quezon, Burias Island, Polilio Island, Aurora, Sorsogon and Northern Samar.

If Pepeng continues on its current track, Metro Manila, northern Luzon and central Luzon will experience moderate rainfall by Friday and possibly moderate to heavy rainfall by Saturday when Pepeng hits land.

For Metro Manila, Nilo said Pagasa might raise at most Storm Signal No. 2 by Friday night or Saturday morning.

He said Pepeng could weaken when it hit the Sierra Madre range but only by about 30 percent. “When that happens, it would still be a strong typhoon,” he said.

“Saturday is critical to Metro Manila. We should take advantage of the window [of opportunity] that we now have,” Cruz said.

Stocking up on food

As Pepeng approached, worried Manila residents who had returned to their homes after the floodwaters receded, and those whose houses were unaffected, were stocking up on food and emergency lights.

Waitress Angel Francisco, 16, rushed back to check on her mother at their still-flooded home in suburban Pasig City.

“There’s a new typhoon according to the news and I am worried for my mother, she said, as she hitched a ride with a delivery truck to try and evacuate her mother.

Glen Juban, whose family was washed from the roof of their shanty by floodwaters on Saturday, expressed the hope that the typhoon would hit another place.

“We’ve been hit so hard. The situation now is just so difficult and I don’t know if we can take some more, another calamity,” he said.

Juban, his wife and 13-year-old son survived but his 4-year-old daughter drowned.

Roofs being fixed

In Isabela, several residents started fixing their roofs and strengthening the foundations of their houses to minimize the typhoon’s impact.

Criselda Balingao, a resident of Barangay Alibagu in Ilagan town, said she and her husband Amadeo had brought their household appliances and important belongings to their house’s second floor and covered these with tarpaulin.

In Calasiao town in Pangasinan, Tina Mina, a resident of Barangay Doyong, said she and members of the family had started strengthening their house’s roof in anticipation of strong wind.

“It is fearful when you hear the sound of roof getting blown away,” she said.

In Zambales, Myrna Rafael, a resident of Botolan town, has readied her furniture, household appliances and her pet dog so she can take these to an evacuation center.

“We’re like rats running away from water every time we hear about the coming of the rains. My family has been to at least two evacuation centers since August,” Rafael said.

Susan Espinueva of the Pagasa Hydrological Division said most of the dams in Luzon have their floodgates opened.

These include the San Roque, Angat, Binga, Ambuklao, Magat, Pantabangan and Ipo Dams. She noted that Laguna Lake had already swelled.

Less rain

While Pepeng is likely to bring less rain than Ondoy, the typhoon is expected to compound flooding in Metro Manila, parts of which remain submerged due to blocked drainage systems.

Ondoy dumped the heaviest rains in four decades on Metro Manila and in surrounding areas, triggering floods that swamped the metropolis with up to 20 feet of water.

Ondoy has left 277 dead so far in the Philippines, according to the government, and killed about 100 more after pounding Vietnam and Cambodia.

The number of people known to have been affected by Ondoy in the Philippines rose to 2.5 million on Thursday, the government said in its latest update, up nearly 300,000 from Wednesday’s estimate.

The number of flood survivors staying in gymnasiums, schools and other makeshift evacuation camps also continued to balloon, with about 687,000 people staying in them, the government said.

Those in the cramped, evacuation centers were told to prepare for the new storm, with fresh rains certain to aggravate already squalid conditions. With reports from Rey M. Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon; Charlene Cayabyab, Inquirer Central Luzon; and Inquirer Northern Luzon; Agence France-Presse and Associated Press