Mandaue prepares for storm ‘Odette’

The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office personnel of Mandaue City will monitor the city’s rivers and waterways with its “River Eye” equipment at the CDRRMO command center as part of the precautions for the possible upcoming storm that may affect the Visayas in the middle of the week. | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines — The Mandaue City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office is preparing for Tropical Storm “Odette”, which may make landfall in the vicinity of Eastern Visayas on Thursday, December 16, 2021.

The MCDDRMO personnel continue to monitor the track of the tropical storm “RAI” that is projected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Tuesday, December 14.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), once the tropical storm “RAI” enters PAR, it will be named locally as tropical storm “Odette”.

‘River Eye’, Mandaue waterways

With this development, the Mandaue’s CDRRMO, will use the city’s command center’s “river eye” to monitor any changes in the water level of the city’s creeks and rivers. 

Buddy Alain Ybañez, CDRRMO head, said their personnel would be in constant communications with the barangay, and there would also be personnel in the barangays, who would inform the barangays of the tropical depression, order them to prepare their equipment, and inform their residents that were in the low-lying areas.

Ybañez said they were constantly conducting surveys of the city’s barangays to check if there were trees that might pose an eminent danger.

Based on Pag-asa’s Tropical Cyclone Advisory No. 4 issued at 5 p.m. on Monday, the tropical storm will gradually intensify and may reach the typhoon category with a maximum sustained wind of 155 kilometers per hour.

According to the state weather bureau’s forecast, the tropical cyclone will move westward and may make landfall over the Eastern Visayas-Caraga area on Thursday, December 16. The highest possible wind signal that may be hoisted is Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 3.

Lawyer John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mayor Jonas Cortes, said if the water level would be abnormal, they would implement forced evacuation to areas that would be flooded heavily to prevent loss of lives.

In case there would be a rise of the water level of the city’s rivers, then they would sound their early warning system (EWS) to inform the residents near the river that the water level was rising.

Ibañez said residents near the rivers were trained to interpret the sound.

3As for Mandaue residents

Ibañez is encouraging residents especially those living near the rivers to always remember the 3As, (Andam [Prepare], Amping [Be careful] and Ampo [Pray]).

“Atoang hangyo ang 3As, Andam, mag-andam ta sa atoang gamit labi na sa atoang mga kits, flashlights, pagkaon, tubig, just in case kusog ning bagyo,” he said.

(We are requesting [the public to follow the 3As], prepare, let us prepare our things especially our kits, flashlights, water, just in case if the storm will be strong.)

“The second A is Amping, mag-amping ta hilabi kung mudako ang tubig, mukusog ang hangin, magtan-aw ta sa atoang palibot kung adunay branches nga kinahanglan putlunon kay kusog ang hangin mao ni cause sa mga injury, matagak ang branches,” Ibañez said.

(The second A is be careful, we should be careful especially if the water will rise, the wind will go stronger, closely observe your surroundings if there are branches that needed to be cut because when the wind is strong that branch may  be the cause of an injury.)

“And the third A is Ampo, walay lain makatabang nato ani atoang kaugalingon ug labaw nga makagagahom,” said the head of Mandaue’s CDRRMO.

(And the third A is prayer, there is no one who can help us but ourselves and the one who is all powerful.)

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