NDRRMC conducts forced evacuations in Itogon, Benguet due to Rosita

Forced evacuations are being conducted in Itogon, Benguet, as Typhoon Rosita continues on its course, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Monday.

Preemptive evacuations were also earlier done in Cordillera on Sunday.

According to PAGASA, as of 1 p.m. Monday the typhoon was 355 km east-northeast of Casiguran, Aurora, with maximum sustained winds of up to 150 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 185 km/h.

Moving west-southwest at 15 km/h, it is expected to make landfall over the southern Isabela-northern Aurora area by Tuesday morning and pass through the provinces of Aurora, Isabela, Quirino, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet, and La Union.

According to NDRRMC, 290 cities and municipalities are at risk.

An NDRRMC response cluster has been activated and its units in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and CAR are now on red alert status.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureau of Fire Protection are already on stand-by for possible deployment.

The Department of Social Welfare Development (DSWD), on the other hand, has prepared stockpiles and standby funds amounting to P1.4 billion for food and cash assistance to affected residents.

More than 300,000 food packs have been prepared by the DSWD.

Itogon was one of the areas hardest hit by Typhoon Ompong last month, when at least 91 people were killed in a landslide in a mining area in the town. — Dona Magsino/BM, GMA News