Disaster councils brace for typhoon

CEBU may not lie in the path of an approaching tropical storm, but disaster councils in Cebu city and province are bracing for the worst.

The slow-moving tropical storm Noul, which will be named “Dodong” once it enters the country on Thursday morning,  is predicted to intensify into a typhoon and head towards Luzon.

“Even if it moves slowly,  it will surely intensify into a full-blown typhoon,” said Oscar Tabada, Visayas head of weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

He said Noul’s maximum sustained winds could strengthen to 120 kilometers per hour (kph) from 83 kph as of 1  p.m. yesterday. Noul is moving west northwest at nine kph.

“As we said, there’s a big possibility that this will intensify into a full-blown typhoon because of the warm sea surface due to the El Niño (phenomenon),” Tabada added.

The weather bureau predicted that Noul will hit land in Bicol Region on Saturday and move up to Metro Manila area by Sunday.

“There’s a 40-percent chance that it will affect the city,” Tabada said.

At the Capitol, provincial disaster risk reduction and management officer Baltazar Tribunalo Jr. said they have sent out  updates on the storm to warn  local governments in Cebu.

“We keep on sharing information.  Sometimes we duplicate messages sent by the OCD,”,” Tribunalo said.

In Cebu City, Mayor Michael L. Rama said he has directed the city disaster  council  to convene since he was out of town.

Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, who heads the disaster council, said they will ask contractors to help dredge  creeks and waterways in the city.

As of 11 a.m. yesterday, Noul was spotted 1,520 kilometers east of Mindanao with maximum sustained winds of 75 kph and gustiness of 90 kph.