The city government of Baguio continues to strengthen its preparedness measures in the wake of successive typhoons entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility and threatening Northern Luzon.
“I can say we are prepared because we continue what we are doing like going around the barangays. We conduct meetings with emergency responders, and advise those barangays within flood and landslide-prone areas to perform pre-emptive or forced evacuation when deemed necessary,” City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Engr. Charles Bryan Carame said in a radio interview.
Carame shared that city DRRMC headed by Mayor Benjamin Magalog recently started distributing rescue kits to different barangays.
The kit contains handy tools to equip the barangays to respond effectively to common injuries and emergencies.
He added that the Mines and Geosciences Bureau has provided them list of areas susceptible to flood and landslide, which they shared to identified barangays.
Among the barangays listed as prone to landslides are those with mountainous areas like Dominican Hill, Irisan, Bakakeng, and Atok Trail.
For the City Camp Lagoon which frequently causes flooding in surrounding areas during typhoons often due to clogging of drainage structures, a development master plan has been submitted to the Office of the President for approval and possible funding, Carame said.
He also reported the city has enough fund for response efforts should a strong typhoon hit the city.
With the PAGASA forecast that Typhoon Ofel (USAGI) will make landfall over Northern or Central Luzon on Thursday (Nov. 14) afternoon or evening, and another tropical cyclone with the international name “Man-yi” expected to enter PAR by Thursday night, Carame called on the barangay officials and the public to continue to be vigilant and be prepared, and to keep monitoring for weather updates.
For emergency assistance, just call 911. Philippine Information Agency Cordillera Release
