NDCC alerts Luzon regions as typhoon ‘Ramil’ gains strength

The National Disaster Coordinating Council alerted on Saturday afternoon its regional offices in Luzon after typhoon “Ramil" (international name: “Lupit") further intensified. According to its latest update, the NDCC operation began disseminating advisories and discharge warnings to regional units of the Office of Civil Defense and also asked local government units to submit status reports on their level of preparedness. Dam discharge warnings were earlier given out by the NDCC and municipal disaster coordinating councils were alerted for possible pre-emptive evacuations in Central Luzon region where Angat and Pantabangan dams are located. According to the 5 p.m. weather bulletin from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Ramil packed stronger maximum sustained winds of 140 kph near the center with gustiness of 170 kph was it moved northwest at 13 kph. The weather bureau last spotted Ramil 940 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora province. The NDCC had also begun prepositioning relief goods in northeastern Luzon, particularly in Aurora, in anticipation of the typhoon. According to earlier reports from Pagasa, Ramil is expected to make landfall on Tuesday in northern Luzon, which typhoon 'Pepeng' (Parma) had battered two weeks ago. Pepeng roared in and out of Luzon for 10 days before exiting the Philippine area of responsibility last Saturday. Before making its first landfall in the Cagayan province on Oct. 3, Pepeng packed maximum sustained winds of 175 kph. It exited into the South China Sea the next day, but it made another landfall over Ilocos Norte after being pulled back on Oct. 6 by tropical cyclone "Quedan" (Melor), which was blowing toward southern Japan. A relatively weaker Pepeng returned for a third landfall on Oct. 8 before exiting the country two days later. Pepeng affected at least 662,274 families or 3,106,978 people in 4,585 villages in 361 towns and 35 cities and 27 provinces. [See: Pepeng death toll now at 419, surpasses Ondoy’s] - Andreo C. Calonzo, GMANews.TV