Metro LGUs overprepared for Ruby

MANILA, Philippines—It pays to be “overprepared.”

In a final assessment meeting with agency officials yesterday, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Francis Tolentino attributed to the overpreparedness of local government units (LGUs) Metro Manila’s flood-free and zero-casualty status when Tropical Depression “Ruby” was closest to the area on Monday night.

It also helped that at that time, the storm had weakened considerably, bringing maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 100 kph, down from 149 kph to 170 kph the other day.

“Reports from the LGUs revealed that there was minimal damage here in the Metro,” Tolentino said, noting that the damage reported so far was minimal and limited to the destroyed roofs of houses.

“We also achieved zero casualty in Metro Manila which meant that our overpreparation worked,” added the MMDA chair who is also the head of the Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MMDRRMC).

As early as Sunday night, some LGUs had already evacuated residents living near waterways to protect them from storm surges and flooding. The MMDA also deployed around 1,000 of its rescue personnel to different parts of Metro Manila on Monday to speed up its disaster response under “Oplan Metro Yakal.”

“Preparation is not just an option, it’s a duty,” said Tolentino who also met with representatives of the MMDRRMC, LGUs, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) and other government agencies on Friday and Monday to finalize the preparations for Ruby.

He noted that LGUs have also stepped up their alertness, monitoring the storm’s approach and making an early declaration of the suspension of classes.

Based on the monitoring of the MMDA, Metro Manila was relatively flood-free on Monday as the only report the agency received was about gutter-deep floodwaters in Muntinlupa City, Tolentino said.

He also thanked mall operators for agreeing to shorten their operating hours on Monday to assure the safety of employees.

“These malls also agreed to offer free overnight parking for stranded motorists,” Tolentino added, noting that this was the first time this happened.

“Later on, we may be able to use these mall parking lots as evacuation centers and we can be assured that these are secure and flood-free,” he said.

On Tuesday, Pagasa lifted all public storm warning signals in Luzon, including Metro Manila, as Ruby further weakened while heading toward the West Philippine Sea. It was expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) shortly after midnight.

For an official of the Quezon City DRRMC, “it’s better to be ‘overprepared’ than to lose lives.”

“We are just making sure that there will be no casualties and damage. Safety is our first priority,” said Karl Michael Marasigan, the city’s DRRMC special assistant for operations.

For his part, city administrator Aldrin Cuña said that “anticipate” would probably be the more appropriate word.

“We needed to be proactive and resilient,” he added.

Quezon City recorded zero casualties and remained flood-free despite continuous rains on Monday.

Pagasa earlier issued an orange rainfall alert for the city, warning of 15 to 30 mm of rain as Ruby made its way to Mindoro.

“Fortunately, the typhoon weakened when it made landfall in Batangas province so the city was spared from flooding,” Cuña said.

The city government prepared for the worst case scenario with more than 400 city hall employees mobilized on Saturday, Dec. 6, for the onslaught of Ruby.

Families in landslide-prone and flood-prone areas such as Barangays Bagong Silangan, Commonwealth and Payatas were given an early warning and forced to leave their houses.

As of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, the number of families in the city’s evacuation centers had dropped to 354 from 1,154 on Monday evening. With Rima Granali