Sen. Grace Poe has appealed to residents in Typhoon Lando’s path to heed the call of local disaster management councils for evacuation to safer places if needed.
Poe issued the call in the wake of an advisory issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) that Lando may bring heavy to intense rains to the provinces of Isabela and Aurora starting Saturday.
“Huwag po sana nating ipagwalang-bahala ang mga babala na galing sa ating mga Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.Magsipaghanda po tayo at tumalima sa mga babala mula sa mga awtoridad para na rin sa ating kaligtasan,” Poe said.
(Let us not ignore the warnings from our Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Let us be prepared and heed the warnings from the authorities for our own safety.)
“Magsilbing aral sana sa atin ang ilang malalakas na bagyo na nagdaan kung saan ang publiko at ang mga ahensiya ng gobyerno ay hindi agad nakatugon sa kabila ng paghahanda,” said Poe.
(Let us not forget the lessons from the past disasters when both the public and government agencies were unable to respond immediately despite the preparations.)
PAGASA on Friday said that stormy weather was expected over the provinces of Aurora, Isabela, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya beginning Saturday.
The state weather bureau also said that rains with gusty winds will prevail over the provinces of Cagayan, Kalinga, Mt. Province, La Union, Ifugao and Benguet.
Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, also appealed to the public to help the government spread helpful information on the typhoon in the absence of a mobile disaster alert system.
Poe was referring to the Free Mobile Disaster Alerts’ Act, which has yet to be implemented more than a year after it was signed into a law by President Aquino.
“Retweeting a tweet or sharing a reminder from our disaster management agencies, or even just sending helpful text messages to our friends living in the typhoon’s path would be a big help to the government’s preparations,” Poe said.
Signed into a law on June 20, 2014 by President Aquino, Republic Act No. 10639 requires telecommunication companies to send alerts at regular intervals in the event of an impending tropical storm, typhoon, tsunami or other calamities.
The alerts, which are free of cost to both the government and subscribers, will be sent to mobile subscribers near and within the affected areas. #
