EastMinCom orders units to raise red alert due to Basyang

Eastern Mindanao Command (EMC) head Lieutenant General Benjamin Madrigal Jr. has ordered units under him to be on red alert amid the effects of Tropical Storm Basyang.

EMC units were directed by Madrigal to "prepare, plan and coordinate with different Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils (LDRRMC)" for the impending landfall of Basyang.

Basyang made landfall in Cortes, Surigao del Sur at around 9:15 a.m.

All military assets and personnel were specifically directed to be ready to respond to emergency situations.

"We have to coordinate with LDRRMC to mitigate the effects by assisting them in the conduct of evacuation. Likewise, we have to prepare for the after effect as it is expected to bring high level of rainfall which might cause danger to the different communities," Madrigal was quoted as saying in a press release issued on Tuesday.

The tropical storm's center was last spotted at 80 kilometers northeast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, packing maximum sustained winds of 65 kilometers per hour and gustiness of up to 80 kph. —KG, GMA News