Metro folk warned of ‘Ruby’ fury

Metro Manila residents are warned to brace themselves for possible storm surges, floods and landslides with Typhoon “Ruby” expected to hurtle past areas south of the capital on Monday.

In an emergency meeting on Friday, the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) advised local government units that Ruby might cause flooding in as many as 820 barangays and landslides in 13 more villages in the capital.

That’s 48 percent of the 1,706 barangays making up the National Capital Region.

Bonifacio Pauenas, a representative from the weather bureau, said the capital would already be within the typhoon’s 400-km diameter and may be placed under Signal No. 1 or 2 by Monday, when Ruby is forecast to be in the vicinity of Calapan, Oriental Mindoro.

Storm surges may be expected on Manila Bay, especially along Roxas Boulevard, he added.

The Manila city government announced plans to declare the bayside areas as “no man’s zone” starting Sunday night and evacuate all coastal residents.

MMDA chair Francis Tolentino also suggested massive sandbagging along Roxas Boulevard.

To avoid road accidents during the typhoon, Tolentino called on local government units and the Department of Public Works and Highways to start pruning trees whose branches might break and pose hazards, especially those along major thoroughfares.

This precaution would also help ensure that the roads would remain free of obstructions and passable especially to emergency vehicles, Tolentino added.

Workers on Friday also started rolling down the tarpaulins of the giant billboards along Edsa and other roads.

According to geologist Kevin Garas of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the city with the most number of flood-prone barangays is Manila with 359, followed by Quezon City with 103.

Residents in Barangay Tunasan in Muntinlupa City and Fortune in Marikina City should prepare for an evacuation a day before the storm gets closest to Metro Manila, he added.

Garas also cited 11 barangays in Quezon City—Pansol, Batasan Hills, Loyola Heights, Payatas, North Fairview, La Mesa Dam Reservoir, Commonwealth, Greater Lagro, Bagong Silangan, Matandang Balara and Holy Spirit—as most vulnerable to landslides.