OCD responders to carry on duties despite ‘typhoon fatigue’

PRIORITY The threat of massive flooding due to Super Typhoon Ofel (international name: Usagi) prompts a preemptive evacuation in Solana town, Cagayan. Responders have started assisting residents, especially the elderly, in this photo taken last week. —Office of Civil Defense-Cagayan Valley

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) assured the public on Tuesday that its disaster managers and officials will remain committed to their duties, despite the “typhoon fatigue” caused by the recent consecutive weather disturbances that hit the country.

Civil Defense Administrator Usec. Ariel Nepomuceno made the assurance even after he revealed that many officials were getting sick.

“We are doing rotation to address this problem,” Nepomuceno said in a statement, citing a radio interview.

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“For those who came from, say, Region 8 we helped transport them to another place that needed their assistance. We are finding ways, the assistance we extend to our countrymen is nonstop,” he added.

Likewise, OCD Assistant Secretary Cesar Idio noted the physical exhaustion experienced by disaster responders and managers at all levels of government due to their ongoing disaster risk management operations.

To address this, he said Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr has deployed “medical personnel, doctors, and nurses,” to check the health conditions of OCD’s disaster personnel.

Within a month, six weather disturbances have already affected the country: Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami), Typhoon Leon (international name: Kong-rey), Typhoon Marce (international name: Yinxing), Typhoon Nika (international name: Toraji), Typhoon Ofel (international name: Usagi), and Typhoon Pepito (international name: Man-yi).

Kristine exited the country’s boundary last October 25, while Leon left the Philippine area of Responsibility (PAR) on November 1.

On the other hand, Marce exited PAR on November 8; Nika on November 12; Ofel on November 17; and Pepito on November 18.