President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday ordered government agencies to maximize logistics and resources as the country faces overlapping disaster responses, continuing recovery operations in storm-hit Northern Luzon while preparing for Typhoon “Opong,” which is expected to make landfall later this week.
“This is important because we need to know how to maximize whatever logistics and resources we have now,” President Marcos said during a briefing with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Quezon City.
“We are still responding to the damage left by Typhoon Nando and the southwest monsoon in Northern Luzon, while at the same time preparing for the expected landfall of Opong in the Visayas.”
State weather bureau PAGASA reported that “Nando” has moved west of Macau in southern China, allowing authorities to shift their focus to “Opong,” which was last tracked 815 kilometers east of Mindanao on Tuesday. “Opong” is expected to strengthen into a typhoon within 24 hours, bringing heavier rainfall and stronger winds as it nears the eastern seaboard.
The system is forecast to make landfall in Samar province between Friday morning and Saturday morning, passing very close to Catanduanes by Friday noon.
It will then move across CALABARZON and approach Metro Manila by early Saturday, PAGASA said. Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 has been raised in Samar provinces and is expected to escalate as the storm intensifies. PAGASA warned of heavy rainfall in Eastern Visayas and the Bicol Region, with torrential rains forecast over Northern Samar and Sorsogon from Thursday noon until midday Friday. Flooding and landslides are possible in these areas, prompting officials to urge local governments and residents to prepare early.
As the storm moves closer to the country’s landmass, widespread rainfall is expected in Metro Manila, CALABARZON, and parts of Central Luzon. Authorities also issued an early storm surge warning for coastal communities in Bicol, where surges could reach up to three meters.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said post-disaster operations in the north and pre-emptive preparations in the Visayas are ongoing. About 7,000 families are currently staying in evacuation centers in Northern Luzon, where authorities are still collecting reports of damage, including several deaths from landslides and a missing fisherman in Aurora. Another fatality was reported in Cagayan.
Teodoro said the government needs better weather conditions before it can conduct a thorough damage and needs assessment. Preliminary reports place agricultural losses at P15 million, but validation is still ongoing. According to him, the Department of National Defense is focused on providing logistics support to transport essential goods. Prepositioned relief supplies remain sufficient, and road-clearing operations are underway to ensure access in case of worsening weather.
PAGASA reported on Wednesday that tropical cyclone “Opong” (international name: Bualoi) has already intensified into a severe tropical storm over the Philippine Sea. Moving west-northwestward at 20 kilometers per hour, Opong was last estimated 670 kilometers east of Surigao City, Surigao del Norte.
According to PAGASA’s 5 p.m. bulletin, the severe tropical storm has maximum sustained winds of 95 kph and gusts of up to 115 kph. It is forecast to move toward Eastern Visayas and Southern Luzon, making landfall over the Bicol Region by Friday morning or afternoon and crossing southern Luzon the same day.
Afterward, it will continue moving generally west-northwestward over the West Philippine Sea before exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Saturday. Opong will continue to intensify over the Philippine Sea, possibly reaching typhoon category before making landfall, and then weakening as it crosses the archipelago. Re-intensification is considered highly likely once the storm re-emerges over the West Philippine Sea.
Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 has been raised in northern Samar and the northern portion of eastern Samar, covering San Policarpo, Oras, Jipapad, and Arteche. Signal No. 1 is likewise hoisted over Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate, Samar, the rest of eastern Samar, Biliran, and the northern portion of Leyte, including Barugo, San Miguel, Babatngon, Tacloban City, Calubian, Leyte, Capoocan, Carigara, and Palo.
