FILE PHOTO: During harvest season, rice farmers are usually up before daybreak to collect and store dried “palay” for hulling and milling. Farmers like this woman in Balungao, Pangasinan, now face a threat from imported agricultural products that will flow into the country under the new free trade pact among nations in the Asia-Pacific. RICHARD BALONGLONG
MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon Henry (international name: Hinnamnor) is unlikely to cause major damage to infrastructure and agriculture, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Friday.
Typhoon Henry is now located 365 kilometers east northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, packing maximum sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour with gustiness of up to 205 kilometers per hour, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said in its latest update.
Pagasa hoisted Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 2 over Batanes, while TCWS No. 1 was raised in the Babuyan Islands and the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan.
“Hindi masyado malaki in terms of damage kasi medyo malayo siya but we are not discounting na magkaroon ng direct damage sa agriculture doon sa Batanes at some parts of Cagayan,” NDRRMC spokesperson Raffy Alejandro said in a public briefing.
(The damage is not that extensive because the typhoon is a bit far, but we are not discounting the direct damage to agriculture in Batanes and parts of Cagayan.)
“But so far, yun lang po ang nakikita natin, as far as major infrastructure wala tayong nakikitang major damage dito kasi medyo malayo siya,” Alejandro also said.
(But so far, that is the only damage we anticipate. We see no significant damage to major infrastructure because it is a bit far.)
Alejandro also said they have yet to create a post-disaster or rapid assessment of the typhoon’s damage.
“Antayin natin ito after lumampas ito, because based on our protocol, saka pa lang lang kami gagawa ng post-disaster or rapid assessment ng effect,” he said.
(Let’s wait until after the typhoon passes because, based on our protocol, that’s the time we could only make a post-disaster or rapid assessment of its effects.)
“Henry” is forecast to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Saturday evening or Sunday morning, Pagasa said.
One person was reported dead due to the former Super Typhoon, the NDRRMC also said in its incident report.