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Friday, March 29, 2024

Third storm threatens N. Luzon; blue alert up

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TROPICAL storm “Helen” [international codename: Megi] entered the Philippine area of responsibility on Saturday, threatening Northern Luzon, including Batanes province which was recently devastated by two storms, called “Ferdie” and “Gener.”

Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo on Saturday asked communities to prepare for the storm even she assured the public that the government is already on “blue alert” status and the DSWD has prepared assistance, if needed.

“We assure the public that the [DSWD] is doing all the preparatory measures for ‘Helen’, including repacking of additional relief goods and intensifying our coordination with local government units in Northern Luzon where the storm is expected to hit,” she said.

Taguiwalo said the DSWD has a standby fund of more than P800 million and more than 400,000 food packs for distribution, if they are required.

At the same time, she said the DSWD will continue to provide relief to Batanes residents who have yet to receive help after the two typhoons that devastated the province and forced it to declare a state of calamity last Sept. 15. 

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The DSWD’s Disaster Response Assistance and Management Bureau and its field office held a video conference on Friday to discuss emergency shelter assistance and cash-for-work to 2,241 families whose houses were damaged by “Ferdie.”

Social welfare officers are also continuously conducting psychosocial support processing to affected families in several barangays in Itbayat to help them recover from the stress and trauma they experienced during the recent typhoon. 

Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Northern Luzon should gear for more bad weather due to Helen.

While Helen is not expected to hit land, weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio said “that storm can intensify further” since it is still over water.

“Central Luzon can be affected as well,” he said, adding that the storm will likely remain inside the PAR until around Wednesday.

At 4 p.m. Saturday, Aurelio said the eye of “Helen” was 1,390 kilometers east northeast of Casiguran, Aurora, with maximum sustained winds of 110 kph and gusts of up to 140 kph, and moving toward Taiwan at 25 kph.

It will bring gusty winds and moderate to heavy rains to the northernmost islands and a public storm signal will likely be raised over Batanes by Sunday afternoon.

Helen could stir monsoon rains over Metro Manila and Northern and Central Luzon on Monday but not as heavy as when Typhoon Gener hit the country.

Typhoon Gener [international name ‘Malakas’] battered Northern Luzon’s northernmost Batanes province and surroundings earlier this month with moderate to heavy rains, maximum sustained winds of up to 175 kph and gustiness of up to 210 kph.

Before Gener, near-super typhoon “Ferdie” [international name ‘Meranti’] also dumped moderate to heavy rains there this month while packing maximum sustained winds of up to 210 kph and gustiness of up to 245 kph.

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