Typhoon “Ompong” (international name: Mangkhut) retained its ferocious strength and shifted slightly toward more densely populated coastal provinces in northern Luzon on Friday as it barreled closer to the northeastern Philippines, where a massive evacuation was underway.
More than five million people are at risk from the storm, which the Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center categorizes as a super typhoon with powerful winds and gusts equivalent to a category 5 Atlantic hurricane.
It was initially expected to hit the northern tip of Cagayan province early Saturday, but it was likely to make landfall farther south and closer to Isabela province, and then cut across the northern breadbasket, said forecaster Chris Perez.
The change isn’t likely to markedly change its impact because of the typhoon’s massive size, he said.
A huge raincloud band 900 kilometers (560 miles) wide, combined with seasonal monsoon rains, means the typhoon will bring heavy to
intense rain that could set off landslides and flash floods.
Storm warnings have been raised in almost all the provinces across the main northern island of Luzon, including the capital, Manila, restricting sea and air travel.
The typhoon is approaching at the start of the rice and corn harvesting season in Cagayan, a major agricultural producer, and farmers were scrambling to save what they could of their crops, Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba said.
The threat to agriculture comes as the Philippines tries to cope with rice shortages.
Ompong’s effects in Cebu
Pagasa-Mactan chief Al Quiblat Jr. urged Cebuanos to take precautionary measures even if the province is not within the typhoon’s tracks.
This is because Cebu has been experiencing winds up around 50 to 60 kilometers per hour.
“It’s equivalent to Storm Signal No. 1. The southwest monsoon (habagat) that brought rains in Visayas has intensified due to Ompong’s presence,” said Quiblat.
“We also strongly advise fishermen not to sail into the sea because the strong winds we’re experiencing now can result to huge waves that can reach up to three meters in height, and it’s dangerous,” he added.
However, Quiblat said the public can expect an improvement in the weather this afternoon.
“If the typhoon maintains its speed, by Sunday, it maybe already outside the PAR (Philippine area of responsibility), and it’s going to be a sunny and a fair weather for Cebu,” said Quiblat.
Ompong’s track
Ompong was tracked at mid-afternoon on Friday about 470 kilometers (290 miles) away in the Pacific with sustained winds of 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 255 kph (158 mph), forecasters said.
According to the severe weather bulletin issued by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Typhoon Ompong was 340 km east northeast of Casiguran, Aurora, as of 4 p.m. yesterday, and was projected to make landfall this morning within the areas of Cagayan and Isabela provinces in Northern Luzon.
Storm Signal No. 4 has been hoisted over these provinces hours before the typhoon will barrel through them.
While maintaining its strength of 205 kilometers per hour (kph), with gustiness of up to 255 kph, Ompong has accelerated, moving at 30 kph in a west direction.
After the Philippines, the Hong Kong Observatory predicts Ompong will plow into the Chinese mainland early Monday south of Hong Kong and north of the island province of Hainan. Though it is likely to weaken from a super typhoon to a severe typhoon, it will still be packing sustained winds of 175 kph (109 mph), it said.
Office of Civil Defense chief Ricardo Jalad told in an emergency meeting led by President Rodrigo Duterte that more than five million people in Cagayan, Isabela and outlying provinces are vulnerable to the most destructive effects near the typhoon’s 125-kilometer (77-mile) -wide eye.
Nearly 48,000 houses in those high-risk areas are made of light materials.
President Duterte asked Cabinet officials from the north to help oversee disaster-response work if needed, and told reporters it was too early to consider seeking foreign aid.
“It would depend on the severity of the crisis,” Duterte said. “If it flattens everything, maybe we need to have some help.”
Officials said other northern provinces had started evacuating residents from high-risk areas, including northern mountain provinces which are prone to landslides.
Ompong is the 15th storm this year to batter the Philippines, which is hit by about 20 a year and is considered one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries. Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and displaced over 5 million in the central Philippines in 2013.
Stranded in Cebu
In Cebu, Marilyn Alburo has no choice but to sleep and seek shelter inside Pier 1 in Cebu City since Thursday, as she and her husband, Lauriano, waited for the Philippine Coast Guard in Central Visayas (PCG-7) to lift the cancellation of sea trips in Cebu.
The Alburos, who were bound for Negros Oriental, were among the more than 500 passengers stranded in different ports in Cebu on Friday due to bad weather.
The PCG-Cebu has canceled sea voyages, including those of 97 roll-on-roll-off (RoRo) vessels, since Thursday in anticipation of typhoon Ompong.
The 55-year-old accompanied her husband for his check-up at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu City a month after he underwent an operation of his tumor.
While waiting for any advice from local authorities, the two have decided to stay inside the terminal, together with a hundred more individuals.
“Okay raman sab diri kay duna may bagyo, safe sad (It is okay and safe for us to stay here in the terminal while there is a typhoon),” she said.
Most of the stranded passengers were bound for Bohol, Negros Occidental, Ozamiz, Leyte and
Iloilo.
PCG-7 Station Operations Officer Lt. Michael John Encina said they instructed their substations to coordinate with the local government units (LGUs) where the terminals are located to assist stranded passengers.
Encina said the passengers could expect for sea trips to resume on Sunday.
Tourists, too
The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) meanwhile recorded at least 135 foreign and 39 local tourists stranded in several tourist attractions in Cebu.
Tourism activities such as trips to Sumilon and Malapascua islands, island hopping in Moalboal town, canyoneering in Badian town, and whale-shark watching in Oslob have also been suspended as safety measure against the sea hazards posed by the typhoon.
Despite these warnings, 13 domestic tourists from Manila reportedly disobeyed them and pursued their plans to climb Osmeña Peak through Dalaguete town.
PDRRMO chief Baltazar Tribunalo Jr. told Cebu Daily News that the climbers were successfully tracked and brought down to safety, more than five hours since the group was reported to have climbed the famous peak.
Class suspensions, safety measures
To ensure that students will remain safe amid the bad weather, several LGUs in Cebu have suspended classes in public schools.
PDRRMO tallied a total of 13 LGUs (cities of Danao, Bogo and Talisay, and the municipalities of Minglanilla, Santander, Sibonga, Tuburan, Compostela, Boljoon, Santa Fe, Madridejos, Bantayan and Poro) in Cebu province that announced suspension of classes in the elementary and secondary levels.
Classes in public schools, too, were also suspended in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu.
Meanwhile, at least 120 personnel from Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) were placed on standby to respond any eventualities arising from the effects of Ompong.
Senior Supt. Royina Garma, CCPO director, said they would be closely monitoring flood-prone and landslide-prone areas in the city and have set in place all measures needed in case they would be called upon to conduct search and rescue missions.
The Cebu City government has also deployed four Kaohsiung buses to provide free rides to passengers who will be stuck in flooded areas in the city.
Councilor Dave Tumulak, the city’s deputy mayor on police matters, said these buses will be plying the major thoroughfares located in Barangays Labangon and Mabolo.
“If the weather remains bad on Saturday, these buses will continue to traverse through these areas,” Tumulak said.
Air travel
At the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA), only two international flights were so far reported to have been canceled.
These were Philippine Airlines (PAL) Flight PR 390, scheduled to leave Cebu for Beijing, China, at 8:50 p.m. on Sept. 15; and PR 391 from Beijing to Cebu at 3:10 a.m. on Sept 16.
Yesterday (Friday), PAL Flight PR 2929 scheduled to depart Cebu for Camiguin at 11 a.m. has been canceled.
“As we prepare for the effects of typhoon Ompong, we advise passengers to coordinate with their respective airlines for any announcements regarding cancellations, rescheduling or rebooking of flights,” GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), the private operator of MCIA, said in a statement.
For local businesses, “the overall economic impact will be minor only,” said Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) vice president for external affairs Steven Yu.
While air and sea travels have been mostly affected by the typhoon, Yu said there is only minimal effect on land travels and deliveries, which are more vital for local businesses.