AVOID UNNECESSARY TRAV EL, OUTDOOR ACTIVTIES WITH INCLEMENT WEATHER- CRDRRMC

November 1, 2024 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY

Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Chairperson and Office of Civil Defense Regional Director Albert Mogol issued a public advisory reminding people to avoid non-essential or unnecessary travel and to postpone tourism and mining activities with the prevailing threats of tropical storm Kristine. Mogol said some road networks are still being cleared by the Department of Public Works and Highways-Cordillera. Due to saturated slopes or mountains, landslides may be triggered.

He also advised people against outdoor or field activities such as farming especially on steep slopes, mountain sides, and near rivers and other water tributaries, to protect themselves from unprecedented risk of soil erosion, landslides or drowning. In a meeting of the CRDRRMC Response Cluster and Early Recovery Pillar at the Virtual Emergency Operations Center on Friday (Oct. 25), Mogol called on the council member agencies and local DRRM councils to help disseminate the public advisory.

Moreover, to remain on heightened alert and maintain their response readiness as tropical storm Kristine continues to bring light to moderate and at times heavy rains in the region. The local DRRM councils were also advised to continue monitoring and assessing possible risks and hazards in their respective area of responsibility and to conduct preemptive evacuation, if deemed necessary.

In the Response Cluster meeting presided by Department of Social Welfare and Development-Cordillera Assistant Regional Director for Operations Enrique Gascon Jr., the DSWD-CAR reported that as of 9:00AM on October 25, there are 1,726 families (5,930 persons) affected by STS Kristine in 170 barangays of the six provinces in the region.
There are also 973 families (3,407 persons) being served by 88 open evacuation centers and 405 displaced families
(1,417 persons) that are temporarily taking shelter with relatives/friends.

Most of the displaced populations are due to preemptive evacuation and some are families with damaged houses.
There are 50 partially damaged houses and one fully damaged house, per the DSWD-CAR report. The DPWH recorded closure of 61 road sections when Kristine traversed the Cordillera. Five remain closed to traffic namely; a section of the Calanasan – Ilocos Norte Road (Apayao side); Itogon – Dalupirip Road in Itogon, Benguet; a section of the Banaue – Mayoyao – Alfonso Lista- Isabela Road (Ifugao side); Junction of Talubra – Barlig – Natonin – Paracelis – Callacad Road (Mountain Province side), and Kennon Road.

The Department of Health – Cordillera also reported four persons injured due to landslides- three in Bauko, Mountain Province and one in Pasil, Kalinga. Meanwhile, Engr. Larry Esperanza of PAGASA-Baguio advised the local DRRM Councils to continue to implement the necessary precautionary measures to safeguard life and property in their respective AORs as Kristine may still bring rains and winds in the Cordillera. Esperanza also shared that the largest volume of water recorded in Baguio was 224.6 mm and winds between 80-100km/hr around midnight of October 24.

(JDP/CCD-PIA CAR)