Luzon provinces brace for Inday impact

COMMUNITY PREP Residents of Sabtang, Batanes, help each other prepare for Super Typhoon Inday (Bavi) on Wednesday as they secure their houses and bring their boats to shore in anticipation of strong winds and rains this week. —Photo courtesy of MDRRMO SABTANG

TUGUEGARAO CITY, CAGAYAN, Philippines — Provinces across Luzon are bracing for the potential impact of Super Typhoon Inday (international name: Bavi), which may not make landfall but is expected to unleash heavy rains and powerful winds.

In the island province of Batanes, residents tied down their roofs and reinforced their windows with makeshift shutters as Inday veered closer to the island, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) said on Wednesday.

Villagers were assisted by disaster responders, law enforcers, military reservists and local volunteers who also helped carry fishing boats to higher ground along the shorelines of Sumnanga and Nakanmuan villages, according to Sabtang local disaster risk reduction management officer Marx Israel Castro.

These preparations have been replicated in other towns like Basco, Itbayat, Mahatao and Ivana.

READ: More areas in N. Luzon under Signal No. 1 as Inday enters PAR

Lt. Junior Grade Lamie Manglugay, Batanes Coast Guard station commander, has suspended trips of small boats in the province’s waters.

Weather bulletin

Flights to and from Batanes have also been suspended.

In Masbate, Gov. Ricardo Kho ordered local officials to implement preemptive and forced evacuations of residents living in low-lying and coastal areas due to the threat of Inday and the southwest monsoon (“habagat”).

In its 5 p.m. weather bulletin on Wednesday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said that Inday maintained its strength as it headed toward Luzon, moving westward at 20 kilometers per hour. It was monitored 1,170 km east of northern Luzon as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

READ: PCG suspends small vessel trips in northern Quezon due to ST Inday

The state weather bureau had hoisted Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 1 over 12 provinces, mostly in northern Luzon, on Wednesday afternoon. These are Ilocos Norte, Apayao, northern portion of Abra, Kalinga, eastern portion of Mountain Province, eastern portion of Ifugao, Batanes, Cagayan, including Babuyan Islands, Isabela, northeastern portion of Quirino, northern portion of Aurora, and northern and central portions of Catanduanes.

Pagasa said Inday, with a maximum wind speed of 195 km/h and gustiness of up to 240 km/h, will maintain its super typhoon category until Thursday and is forecast to weaken into a typhoon by Thursday night or early Friday.

Pagasa added that the enhanced southwest monsoon and the periphery of Inday will bring strong to gale-force gusts over most of the country on Thursday and Friday.

Sea trips suspended

Inday was forecast to move generally west-northwestward over the next 12 hours and will turn northwestward while remaining over the Philippine Sea and may approach extreme northern Luzon by Friday night or Saturday morning before heading toward the southern islands of Japan and the sea north of Taiwan.

In southern Luzon, Montenegro Shipping Lines Inc. canceled all scheduled trips for the Lucena City-San Agustin, Romblon route on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions.

Oriental Mindoro, according to the PDRRMO, remains under white alert despite generally good weather on Wednesday, while authorities continue to monitor conditions across the province.

Power interruptions, however, were reported in the municipalities of Bongabong and Bulalacao.

Several ferry trips from the Port of Calapan to Batangas City were also canceled on Wednesday morning.

In the Cordillera, the Department of Public Works and Highways posted a list of roads that may post risks to motorists during bad weather, including two bridges in Apayao’s Calanasan town and sections of the Apayao-Ilocos Norte road.

All roads leading to Baguio City were open on Wednesday, including Kennon Road, where landslides occur during torrential rains.

In La Union, the PDRRMO has been monitoring the typhoon’s movement and assured the public that its response teams, along with sea- and land-based assets, have been prepared for immediate deployment.

Officials have prepositioned essential supplies, including food packs, hygiene kits, and other emergency provisions

Gov. Mario Eduardo Ortega instructed all local governments to remain vigilant and to be prepared to ensure the safety of La Union residents. —REPORTS FROM VILLAMOR VISAYA JR., MADONNA VIROLA, YOLANDA SOTELO, MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES, AND DIANNE SAMPANG