Projected track of Tropical Storm Rai (to be assigned the name Odette as it enters PAR) as of December 13, 2021. | Photo from PAGASA
CEBU CITY, Philippines — All policemen in Cebu City will be on ‘full alert status’ starting at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, December 14, 2021, as they prepare for Tropical Storm “Rai,” which will be named “Odette” once it enters Philippine Area of Responsibility between Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning, Dec. 15.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Parilla, deputy director for operations of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), said that all their police personnel are already on standby in case they will be needed in their respective areas of responsibility. They will be on standby until such time that the storm will no longer be in the region.
Parilla also said that they have established a team assigned for Search and Rescue (SAR) that will be from the city’s Mobile Force Company.
This team will be ready to respond to possible flash floods and landslides due to the storm, which is expected to bring heavy rain in the region.
Based on the latest advisory from Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) issued at 11 am on Tuesday, “Rai” intensifies into severe tropical storm.
The center of the storm estimated, based on all available data, at 1,165 kilometers East of Mindanao.
Parilla reminds the public anew to be ready for “Odette” as early as Tuesday.
He suggested to prepare basic needs such as flashlights, food, emergency kits, among others.
/bmjo
READ: Cebu City postpones activities as it braces for Odette