VISAYAS IN PATH OF HAGUPIT’S WRATH A satellite image of Typhoon “Ruby” (international name: Hagupit) that the weather bureau says is moving toward the Visayas with gustiness of 195 kph. The typhoon is expected to make landfall on Saturday afternoon somewhere north of Guiuan town in Eastern Samar province, the same place where Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) made landfall in November last year. Source: DOST-Project NOAH | As of 12/03/14, 5:01 p.m.
TACLOBAN CITY—Survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) are storming heaven with prayers, asking that they be spared from another disaster, with a new, powerful typhoon expected to hit land in Eastern Visayas on Saturday.
Archbishop John Du of Palo called on the residents of Tacloban on Wednesday to pray the Oratio Imperata (Obligatory Prayer) as the weather service warned that Typhoon “Ruby” would enter the Philippine area of responsibility early on Thursday.
In downtown Tacloban, all stores were full of people who were stocking up on groceries and other emergency provisions.
Alma Marino, 47, said she bought provisions for several days, just in case Ruby would hit Tacloban.
“I don’t like to experience again what we went through during Yolanda—having no food to eat for some days,” she said.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (CDRRMC) met later on Wednesday to make emergency plans.
Evacuation areas like the astrodome and several public schools that were damaged by Yolanda but had since been repaired were designated as evacuation centers.
The council had yet to order preemptive evacuation, but Tacloban City Vice Mayor Jerry Yaokasin said residents should not wait for orders from the CDRRMC and should evacuate when it became necessary.
“We should learn our lesson from Yolanda,” he said.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Ruby (international name: Hagupit) was heading toward Samar and Leyte provinces, and would make landfall as early as Saturday afternoon with gusts of up to 170 kilometers per hour.
With a radius of 600 kilometers, Ruby will affect southern Luzon, including Bicol and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan), the entire Visayas and northern Mindanao.
Metro Manila may have rains, but not the intense stormy weather in Ruby’s path, according to Pagasa forecaster Aldczar Aurelio.
Gaining strength
As of Wednesday evening, Ruby had intensified, gaining maximum wind strength of 160 kph and gusts of 195 kph as it sped toward the Philippines, moving west-northwest across the Pacific Ocean at 30 kph.
Ruby is expected to gain more strength, but unlike Yolanda, whose winds reached more than 300 kph, it will not reach supertyphoon strength, with maximum sustained winds of at least 220 kph, Aurelio said.
He said that based on forecast models, Ruby will make landfall somewhere north of Guiuan, Eastern Samar province, where Yolanda made the first of its six landfalls on Nov. 8 last year.
Residents of Tacloban, which bore the brunt of Yolanda, were clearing out grocery shelves in an effort to stock up on emergency provisions ahead of the new typhoon.
Local authorities met later on Wednesday to identify new evacuation centers far from shore.
Yaokasin said about 500 families were still living in tents more than a year after waves up to 7 meters tall driven ashore by Yolanda destroyed their homes.
They and some 3,000 other families housed in temporary shelters are the priority in case the city government orders a mandatory evacuation, he said.
Storm surges
Pagasa said on Wednesday that shorelines were vulnerable to “storm surges,” or walls of water up to 4 meters tall that could be driven ashore by Ruby’s violent winds.
“Of course, they are deadly. These would be at least one story tall,” Aurelio said.
He warned that typhoon winds of up to 175 kph are capable of destroying houses made of light materials, blowing away roofs, toppling trees and electric posts and cell site towers, and causing landslides.
“We tell our people, ‘Do not panic but take precautionary measures,’” Yaokasin said.
Prepare for any eventuality
Du also asked the social action commissions of all parishes in the region to prepare for any eventuality.
Residents of Barangay 90 in San Jose district, the worst-hit community in Tacloban during Yolanda’s onslaught, set prayers for 3 p.m. every day starting Wednesday at the barangay hall.
“We are having this collective prayer in our barangay to seek God’s help amid this report of another supertyphoon that will hit Tacloban,” village councilor Noneto Wenceslao said.
“We are positive that the good Lord will listen to our collective prayers seeking his help,” he added.
‘Too much to bear’
Yolanda left more than 500 people dead and 100 others missing in Barangay 90, said Wenceslao, who lost his father-in-law, Benjamin Villalino.
Eilyn Obias, 26 and five months pregnant, said it would be “too much to bear” if Ruby hit Tacloban when the residents were still reeling from Yolanda.
“We have not yet recovered from Yolanda’s onslaught and now this report of another supertyphoon. But I am confident that this typhoon will change its course through God’s intervention,” she said.
Obias’ family still lives in a tent, as do 300 other families in the village.
Their tents are less than 100 meters away from the sea. “Since we learned about this new supertyphoon, we could hardly sleep,” she said.
Critical areas
With Ruby having a 600-km radius, Pagasa provided the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with a “critical areas” list of 28 provinces likely to suffer heavy damage.
In Luzon, these are: Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Marinduque, Masbate, Sorsogon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Quezon.
In the Visayas: Aklan, Antique, Bohol, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Romblon, Siquijor.
In Mindanao: Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Biliran; Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Southern Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur.
Six provinces are expected to suffer moderate damage: Batangas, Laguna, Davao del Sur, Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Zamboanga Sibugay.
Metro Manila and four other provinces and one city were also alerted for possible damage. The others alerted were Camarines Sur, Cavite, Rizal, Sultan Kudarat and Zamboanga City.
Project Noah (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards) Director Mahar Lagmay said once Ruby’s track became clearer, simulations would be made and storm surge warnings would be issued for coastal communities.
The warnings will also indicate how high the storm surge waves will be and how far inland the flooding will reach. The information will guide local authorities in choosing higher ground for evacuees.
Coast Guard ready
The Philippine Coast Guard placed all of its units in Bicol, Eastern Visayas and southeastern Mindanao on heightened alert on Wednesday.
Vice Adm. Rodolfo Isorena, Coast Guard commandant, also alerted emergency response teams to be ready to respond to emergency calls.
“Let’s aim for zero casualty,” Isorena said in an advisory to all Coast Guard stations. With reports from Jerry E. Esplanada and AFP
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