LGUs urged to prepare for La Niña

Nagiel Banacia (2nd from left), head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO), outlines their preparations during the third quarter disaster preparedness meeting. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

LOCAL governments in Cebu and Bohol along with national government agencies were urged to fasttrack preparations for the La Niña phenomenon which is expected to intensify in October this year.

“From October to December, more typhoons will arrive in the Visayas,” Oscar Tabada, Visayas director of the state weather bureau Pagasa, told stakeholders who attended the third quarterly disaster preparedness meeting at a Cebu City hotel.

Pagasa Mactan weather specialist Alice Canasa said Cebu residents can expect rain in the next three days due to the southwest monsoon.

“Rainfall is heaviest at the Luzon area,” Canasa told Cebu Daily News.

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, a low pressure area was spotted 215 kilometers off Ilocos Sur.

But Canasa said there is a low chance that it will turn into a typhoon. There are two to four typhoons expected in August.

In the province, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said they’ve been conducting an information drive on La Niña in 60 schools.

Emily Lagrimas of the PDRRMO said the provincial government gave insurance subsidies to farmers and fisherfolk and acquired rescue equipment.

The Bohol provincial government said they set up trainings, awareness campaigns and their Tarsier 117 emergency hotline.

Harold Alcontin of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) said they established satellite command centers to augment their Command Control Center.