Zambales prepares for Uwan’s impact

SAN ANTONIO, Zambales – The provincial government of Zambales is taking proactive measures ahead of the possible impact of Severe Tropical Storm Uwan (international name: Fung-Wong), which is expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) late Friday evening or early Saturday morning.

READ: Pagasa warns public: Uwan could cause widespread flooding, landslides

In a phone interview on Friday, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) head Rolex Estella said the province has already conducted a Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) meeting with all concerned agencies.

According to Estella, Emergency Operations Centers across the province have been activated, food packs have been prepositioned, and search, rescue, and retrieval teams are now on standby in anticipation of the storm’s potential effects.

Meanwhile, local government units (LGUs) in the province have also undertaken their own preparedness measures with a reminder to residents to stay alert and take necessary precautions.

As early as Thursday, the San Felipe LGU held its PDRA meeting as authorities in Subic conducted inspections of drainage systems and waterways along the National Highway traversing Barangays Mangan-Vaca, Ilwas, Calapandayan, Calapacuan, and Sto. Tomas. The inspection aims to mitigate the risk of flooding and inundation that could result from heavy rainfall once the storm arrives.

According to the latest bulletin from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Uwan remains outside the PAR, located about 1,315 kilometers east of Eastern Visayas as of Friday.

The storm is forecast to make landfall over the southern portion of Isabela or the northern portion of Aurora and may intensify into a typhoon within 24 hours. 

Pagasa added that it could reach super typhoon status by Saturday evening or Sunday morning./coa