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[av_heading heading=’WV girds for ‘Vinta’ Portions of region may feel storm – OCD’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]
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ILOILO City – Western Visayas will likely feel the impact of “Vinta,” according to regional disaster management officials who gathered yesterday to discuss preparations for the tropical storm.
Office of Civil Defense chief operations officer Joseph Paul Nogra warned against complacency.
The public must gear up for heavy rains that “Vinta” may bring and the possible consequent flooding and landslides, he stressed.
Nogra said there is a “70 percent” chance that portions of Western Visayas – particularly southern Negros, southern Iloilo and Guimaras – would be hit by the eye of the storm.
Negros Occidental and Guimaras need more attention, he said.
The Interior department has activated local government monitoring systems and ordered the “listo” team – comprising officers from Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, and local disaster management offices – to convene.
Mines and Geosciences Bureau supervising geologist Leilani G. Suerte warned of flooding in coastal areas and landslides in mountainous areas in southern Negros Occidental as a result of heavy rains.
Sipalay City and Hinobaan town, where there are mining areas, in particular have loose soils and tunnels, she said.
Suerte also warned of risky travels, landslides and flash floods in southern Iloilo and Antique. She recommended evacuation in highly populated areas.
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, “Vinta” was 200 kilometers east of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, with maximum sustained winds of 80 kilometers per hour, and was forecast to continuously move west.
Public Storm Warning Signal No. 1 was raised in southern Negros Occidental and southern Negros Oriental, among other areas, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.
Quick response teams in provinces that the storm may hit were on “standby status,” said Assistant Regional Director Evangeline A. Felicio of the Social Welfare department.
Around 17,732 family food packs were on standby at the regional office, Felicio said.
In Negros Occidental, 2,500 family food packs were ready for distribution on top of the 600 sacks of rice that may be taken from the National Food Authority, she added.
The Philippine Coast Guard, for its part, has deployable response teams equipped with rubber and aluminum boats, which may reach flooded areas inaccessible to land vehicles, said the Iloilo commander, Ramil Palabrica.
The Philippine Red Cross, with its mobile kitchen, rescue facilities and generator set, was on standby, too. (PNA)
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