MMDA: NCR emergency units on blue alert for ‘Chedeng’

Although there is no assurance that typhoon "Chedeng" will directly hit the National Capital Region, emergency response units in Metro Manila were placed on blue alert late Wednesday, in preparation for the weather disturbance. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said a blue alert means 60 percent of the total workforce will be on alert for immediate response. "We're now under code blue. All of our equipment and rescue units are now ready," MMDA and Metro Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MMDRRMC) Chairman Francis Tolentino said in a news release posted on the MMDA website. Tolentino presided over an inter-agency meeting with member-agencies and private sector organizations at the MMDA office in Makati City Wednesday afternoon. Blue Alert is the second highest alert level of the MMDRRMC. It is usually raised when a heavy downpour is experienced for at least an hour after the onslaught of a weather disturbance. Citing weather forecasts from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, Tolentino said they expect "Chedeng" to bring much rain to the metropolis, similar to tropical cyclone "Ondoy" (Ketsana) in 2009. Present at the MMDRRMC meeting were representatives of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), AFP-NCR Command, National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO), PAGASA, and Philippine National Red Cross. Also represented were utility firms PLDT, Maynilad, Manila Water, and Meralco and local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila and other civic volunteer groups. The Armed Forces of the Philippines-NCR Command reported it has 50 6-x-6 trucks, 30 rubber boats and two amphibian trucks on standby to help ferry stranded passengers and assist in rescue and relief efforts. Eight of the 6-x-6 trucks had been lent to MMDA. For its part, the Metro Manila police placed on standby its Regional Public Safety Battalion composed of 12 teams of 2,758 men, 612 of whom were specially trained in disaster preparedness and rescue. It also has at its disposal 16 rubber boats. The BFP said it has alerted its 37 rescue units all over Metro Manila, consisting of 1,812 firemen, 132 fire trucks, 14 ambulances, and 17 rubber boats. "We have sufficient number of warm bodies we could tap for disaster and emergency response," Tolentino said. Also, Tolentino said the MMDA Rescue Unit and Road Emergency Group and other related units have also been deployed Wednesday afternoon until Saturday, when "Chedeng" is expected to exit the country. The MMDA's Communications and Command Center will be the center of all emergency operations in Metro Manila. "We're hoping that this MMDRRMC will be the start of synchronized efforts and seamless and cohesive disaster preparedness and response between the MMDA and other government agencies," Tolentino said. Also, Tolentino pointed out the safety of everyone is in the hands of individual residents and households in Metro Manila. "We're ready as we can be. But the public should do its part by ensuring that they, too, are ready in times of calamities like this," Tolentino said. — KBK, GMA News