NDRRMC: Identify, prioritize isolated areas in rescue, relief drive

The swollen Marikina River as of 12:50 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24. (Ram Nabong /  INQUIRER.net)

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday told the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) to prioritize identifying isolated areas in order to expedite the deployment and distribution of assistance and aid amid intense rain and flooding.

Marcos made the pronouncement upon meeting the NDRRMC for a briefer on the country’s current situation amid the onslaught of Typhoon Carina and “habagat.”

“That’s what we need to see, moving focus our attention para the moment na bumaba ang tubig maging passable ang daan, makapunta na sila rescuers agad,” said Marcos.

(That’s what we need to see, moving our attention so that once the water subsides and the roads are passable, the rescuers can proceed immediately.)

“Para mapaghandaan natin mabuti, we need to know where they are. We need to identify those areas, so that we’ll know which ones ano ‘yung hindi pa natutulungan,” he added.

(So that we can prepare well, we need to know where they are. We need to identify those areas, so that we’ll know those who still need help.)

He also ordered the NDRRMC to work with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Office of the Civil Defense.

Marcos emphasized that the NDRRMC should not only provide assistance to evacuees inside evacuation centers but also ensure support for those outside the centers.

The heavy rain and flooding caused by Typhoon Carina and the “habagat” inundated many roads in Metro Manila, disrupting vehicular traffic and emergency response.

As of 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, Carina was spotted some 345 kilometers north-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, packing maximum sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 205 kph, the state weather bureau said.