Cordillera on ‘red alert’ for Paolo

Cordillera’s Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) Operations Center (EOC) is now on “red alert” in preparation for the impact of Typhoon Paolo on the area, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Cordillera said Friday.

“The Cordillera RDRRMC EOC is currently on RED alert status to ensure maximum, timely, and responsive monitoring, warning, coordination, interoperability, and facilitation of preparedness and response readiness measures in the Cordillera region,” it said.

Red alert status is the highest level of alert to address an ongoing or anticipate an imminent emergency. This requires response agency staffing at the operation center and immediate interagency coordination.

Based on the 2 p.m. bulletin of state weather bureau PAGASA, provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region are under tropical cyclone wind signals 4, 3, and 2.

Benguet Governor Melchor Diclas announced the suspension of government work and classes in the entire province on Friday.

All small-scale mining operations, quarrying activities, and other river-related and tourism activities have been suspended in Benguet.

In Apayao, the municipal government of Calanasan ordered the suspension of all tourism-related activities due to Paolo.

In Abra, classes and government work have been suspended. Preemptive evacuation was also imposed.

In Ifugao, some road sections became impassable including the Mayoyao-Banaue National Road and Mayoyao Balangbang-Banao FMR.

Another road section in Balbalan town in Kalinga province, the Kalinga–Abra National Road, also became impassable to motorists on Friday.

All tourism activities, classes, and government work within the province have been suspended.

In Mountain Province, some portions of roads were closed:

Mt. Province- Nueva Vizcaya National Road 

a. Closed at Agkuyo, Samoki section due to continuous soil erosion as of 12:00 noon.

b. Closed at Faniyas, Samoki section due to landslide as of 2:00 p.m

Junction-Talubin-Barlig-Natonin-Paracelis-Calaccad National Road

a. Closed at Sitio Penantew and Sitio Balabag due to landslide as of 10:45 a.m. 

b. As of 1:50 p.m., closed at Agogo Section, Lias Silangan, Barlig due to landslide.

—AOL, GMA Integrated News