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[av_heading heading=’Negros Occidental braces for ‘Marce’ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MAE SINGUAY AND TIFFANY ANNE TAN
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BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental and this capital city are prepared for the onslaught of tropical depression “Marce.”
Storm Signal No. 1 was hoisted yesterday over Negros Island Region and the nearby Panay and Guimaras islands, among other areas.
“Marce” is expected to make landfall today in Jimalalud, Negros Oriental, City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) head Aaron Bais said.
Yesterday Bais met with concerned government agencies and city government departments for the preparations. Local DRRMOs in the province conferred with the Police Regional Office 18 (PRO-18), too.
The CDRRMO is on “red alert status” as it closely monitors situations, especially in flood-prone areas in the metro.
Barangay disaster management councils were tasked to immediately report to the CDRRMO if they need assistance, said Bais.
In case of evacuation, the Department of Social Services and Development has prepared food, while public schools will take in evacuees.
City Schools Division Superintendent Cynthia Demavivas ordered all principals to prepare their classrooms for possible evacuees’ use.
Trucks and flood-rescue equipment and six ambulances are on standby, too, Bais said.
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, “Marce” is estimated at 60 kilometers east-southeast of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, the state weather bureau Pagasa said.
It packs maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per house (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 55 kph.
Classes in preschool and kindergarten in public and private schools here are suspended today, according to the city government’s Public Information Office.
The public were also advised to check the CDRRMO Facebook page (Drrmo Bacolod City) for regular updates on “Marce.”
Meanwhile in other parts of Negros Occidental, all emergency first responders are on standby, ready for possible rescue and relief operations.
The PRO-18 also activated its Disaster Incident Management Task Group.
The task group was organized in accordance with the police’s critical management operational procedure dubbed “Oplan Saklolo” and the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act.
“Every (police) office and unit directly involved in [disaster] operations is given specific duties and responsibilities,” said Chief Inspector Dianne Grace Catedral, PRO-18 spokesperson.
Moreover, the Philippine Coast Guard has prevented all ships from sailing.
All cargo and tanker vessels sailing between Negros and Panay islands when the storm warning signal was raised yesterday were ordered to take shelter to the nearest ports, said local station commander Lieutenant Jimmy Oliver Vingno.
Bacolod-bound fast crafts have taken shelter in Iloilo City, Vingno said.
The Coast Guard recorded around 204 passengers stranded at the Bredco port here and the Danao port in Escalante City, Negros Occidental as of 11 a.m. yesterday./PN
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