‘ALL HANDS ON DECK’: W. Visayas now under Signal No. 1 as ‘Odette’ approaches

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

Local government units and national government agencies have upgraded their preparations for Typhoon Odette, which is set to hit some parts of Panay Island morning of Dec 17, 2021.

Tropical Cyclone Bulletin No. 4 issued 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 15, indicated that the entire region is under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1.

The Bulletin also forecast that “Odette” will make landfall at the vicinity of Binalbagan, Negros Occidental at 2 a.m. Friday.

The storm signal covers the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental, and the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.

The Coast Guard Station (CGS) Iloilo issued a media advisory cancelling the following sea trips:

• Iloilo City to Cebu City;
• Estancia, Iloilo to Tabuelan, Cebu via Sagay City, Negros Occidental;
• Iloilo City to Bacolod City;
• Dumangas, Iloilo to Bacolod City;
• Carles, Iloilo to Gigantes Island in the same town;
• Estancia, Iloilo to Gigantes and Sicogon Islands, Carles, Iloilo;
• Iloilo City to Palawan; and
• Iloilo City to Manila, Batangas, and Cagayan De Oro.

CGS Aklan prohibited all sea travel except for special trips such as trips from Caticlan to Boracay, but later cancelled all trips between the Caticlan Jetty Port in Panay and the Cagban Jetty Port in Boracay Island at the request of the Caticlan-Boracay Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, as chairperson of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Mangement Council (CDRRMC), issued Memorandum Order No. 261 on Tuesday, Dec. 14, activating the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), and mandated Barangay DRRMCs to open their respective Operation Centers.

When a DRRM office is under Blue Alert status, 50 percent of disaster personnel will be required to report to work.

In relation to this, the CDRRM Office has also been placed on Blue Alert status, and Emergency Preparedness and Response CHARLIE protocol has likewise been activated.

Charlie protocol is the highest level under the Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment system of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) with the category of “Extreme Risk.”

The Philippine News Agency also reported on Tuesday that the Office of Civil Defense-Region 6 (OCD-6) has activated the said protocol over the whole region.

The OCD-6 reported on Tuesday that 1,111 barangays are prone to flooding and landslides, with most coming from Antique (364), followed by Aklan (217), Iloilo City and Iloilo province (219), Negros Occidental and Bacolod City (191), Capiz (78), and Guimaras (42).

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has also issued a Provincial DRRM Council memorandum mandating city and municipal disaster operation centers in the province under Red Alert.

Bacolod City Evelio Leonardia has also issued an advisory, activating the city’s EOC, and calling all Barangay DRRM Committees, government instrumentalities and the public to be prepared.