Metro Manila LGUs brace for Karding

City governments in the National Capital Region on Sunday started preparing for the impact of Super Typhoon Karding.

In a Facebook post, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said she had a meeting with the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office to ensure the safety of citizens.

Belmonte advised citizens to stay home as much as possible and to prepare for possible loss of electricity or water supply.

“Ang mga nasa high-risk areas ay inabisuhan lumikas. Magsasagawa rin ng forced evacuation ang lokal na pamahalaan sa mga susunod na oras,” she added.

According to Luisito Santos’ report on Super Radyo dzBB, billboards along EDSA in Quezon City have been taken down as a precaution against the effects of Super Typhoon Karding.

QC Public Affairs and Information Services Department chief Engelbert Apostol said that all city government departments were on heightened alert.

The QC Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office, meanwhile, prepared rescue equipment, such as rubber boats, that would be used to respond to floods, and chainsaws that would be used to cut fallen trees.

In an update, the QC government ordered forced evacuations of high-risk areas including Tagumpay Extension, Tumana, New Greenland, Clemencia, and Isla Puting Bato in Barangay Bagong Silangan.

“Ang mga inilikas ay pansamantalang mananatili sa Bagong Silangan Isolation Building. Nakahanda na rin ang Bagong Silangan Elementary School at Bagong Silangan High School para sa evacuees,” it said.

Muntinlupa City Mayor Ruffy Biazon said that Muntinlupa Emergency Operations Center had been on blue alert starting 6 p.m. of September 24.

Biazon said that all concerned response agencies had also been instructed to submit their available resources and preparedness actions.

“Ipinapatupad natin sa lungsod ang full-scale at heightened monitoring. Para sa kaligtasan ng mga residente, ipinag-utos na natin ang pre-emptive evacuation sa coastal areas, low-lying areas, at flood-prone and landslide prone areas, kung kinakailangan,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

“Nakahanda na rin ang ating Social Services Department kung sakaling magkakaroon tayo ng mga evacuees,” he added.

The Mayor also prohibited small fishing vessels from sailing out as part of the precautionary measures for Karding, adding that the Lake Management Office was also monitoring the situation.

Biazon said that billboards along the SLEX, East and West service roads, as well as other areas in Muntinlupa City, have been rolled down due to Karding.

In San Juan City, Mayor Francis Zamora said that the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office was coordinating with all the city departments involved in disaster response - including the San Juan Bureau of Fire Protection and barangay public safety offices.

“Mga minamahal kong San Juaneño, maging handa po tayo sa pagdating ng Typhoon Karding ngayong araw,” Zamora wrote on Facebook.

“Ang San Juan Gym po ang ating magiging main evacuation center kung sakaling magkakaroon ng pagtaas ng tubig. Nakahanda na din ang ating mga pumping stations pati ang ating City Social Welfare and Development Office,” he added.

Metro Manila had been placed under Signal No. 3 at 11 a.m.-Sunday.

PAGASA warned that the locality could expect 89 to 117 kph winds in the next 18 hours.

These winds were a moderate to significant threat to life and property, it added.

The NCR would also experience heavy to intense with at times torrential rains on Sunday afternoon through to early morning Monday.

As of 10 a.m., PAGASA said Karding's center was 175 kilometers east of Infanta, Quezon with maximum sustained winds of 195 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 240 kph, and a central pressure of 920 hPa.

At present, the super typhoon is moving west at 20 kph.

Karding had strong to typhoon-force winds extending outwards up to 290 kms from the center. — DVM, GMA News