The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday declared red alert status in anticipation of the landfall of Typhoon Yutu in Northern Philippines on Tuesday morning.
NDRRMC Spokesperson and Director for Operations, Edgar Posadas, said in a briefing in the presidential palace.
He said that the 44-member council was on standby and ready to lend a hand from the national government.
Posadas added that four of NDRRMC regional offices in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley Region, Central Luzon Region and the Cordillera Administrative Region were also on alert.
He explained that the Search Rescue and Retrieval team (SRRT) composed of uniformed personnel of the Philippine Army and the Philippine Air force were also on standby, noting that “we have also prepositioned those areas’ power generator sets and chainsaws to augment existing resources of the region.
“We have the whole NDRRMC on standby right now to respond just in case we’re needed.
“Relief goods and emergency kits had also been prepositioned in areas within the typhoon path,’’ Posadas said.
Presidential Spokesperson, Salvador Panelo, said Philippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, was
ready to appoint and deploy a cabinet secretary to act as point person in the areas that may be
hit by the typhoon.
Typhoon Yutu is described to have the potential to be a super typhoon.
It is Philippines’ 18th tropical cyclone for 2018.
The country usually gets an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year. NAN
