NDRRMC: Emergency response protocols activated amid Super Typhoon Betty

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MANILA, Philippines — The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Sunday it has activated its emergency preparedness and response (EPR) protocols in areas likely to be affected by Super Typhoon Betty.

The NDRRMC’s EPR protocols were designed to help local government units and other national agencies in their response operations during a calamity.

“We continue to coordinate with different agencies on preparations for Super Typhoon Betty. This ensures that all necessary measures are in place from the national to the local level. We have already identified and activated appropriate emergency preparedness and response protocols in different regions affected by the weather disturbance,” Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Administrator and NDRRMC Executive Director, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, said in a statement.

On Saturday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) raised Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No.1 over 12 provinces in Northern Luzon as Betty entered the Philippine area of responsibility.

These provinces were Batanes; Cagayan including Babuyan Islands; Isabela; Apayao; Ilocos Norte; northern and central portions of Abra; Kalinga; central and eastern parts of Mountain Province; central and eastern parts of Ifugao; north and eastern portions of Aurora; Quirino; and northern portions of Nueva Vizcaya.

For search, rescue, and retrieval operations, the NDRRMC said 1,679 teams from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) are on standby.

It also said that the OCD and Department of Social Welfare and Development have P2.2 billion worth of stockpile and standby funds and P256.2 million 2023 Quick Response Fund (QRF) to aid communities that will be affected by the typhoon.

Aside from the QRF, the OCD’s central and regional offices have P108.2 million worth of non-food items ready for distribution to assist typhoon-hit communities, the NDRRMC also said.

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