'Chedeng' maintains strength but accelerates slightly

Tropical Storm Chedeng (Songda) accelerated slightly as it continued to move in a west northwest direction Monday morning, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said. As of 10 a.m., PAGASA said Chedeng was about 795 km east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 120 kph. It said Chedeng was moving west northwest at 15 kph and is expected to be 540 km east northeast of Guiuan, Eastern Samar Tuesday morning. PAGASA said that by Wednesday morning, it is expected to be 360 km east northeast of Virac, Catanduanes. By Thursday morning it is expected to be 265 km north northeast of Virac, Cantanduanes or 250 km east of Casiguran, Aurora. However, no public storm warning signals have been raised so far. PAGASA maintained Chedeng is not expected to directly affect any part of the country within the next 24 hours. Still, it urged the public and the disaster coordinating councils concerned to take appropriate precautions. Just recently, Tropical Storm Bebeng left at least 35 dead and P1.370 billion in damage to property when it pummeled parts of Central and Southern Luzon, Metro Manila, the Bicol Region, and Central and Eastern Visayas. Preemptive evacuation Meanwhile, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council ordered Monday the preemptive evacuation of residents in low-lying areas to be affected Chedeng. NDRRMC executive director Benito Ramos ordered the evacuation as he went to the Bicol region to oversee preparations for the expected onslaught of Chedeng, radio dzBB reported. As this developed, Office of Civil Defense Bernardo Rafael Alejandro IV said they had been monitoring Chedeng's movement since Saturday. "Naghanda kami at nagkasundo we will deploy our assets, specifically around the Bicol region basin (We agreed to deploy assets around the Bicol region basin)," Alejandro said in an interview on dzBB. He said they expect floods and rains from Chedeng to affect Camarines Sur and parts of Albay. Alejandro also said they have designated evacuation centers for residents to be evacuated. He said these are the same sites for residents affected by "Bebeng" (Aere). Aside from this, he said they continue to issue advisories for landslide-prone and flood-prone areas. Meanwhile, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Isabela met Monday to discuss their preemptive actions. Gov. Faustino Dy ordered the meeting to prepare for Chedeng, dzBB's Carlo Mateo reported. — RSJ, GMA News