The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has placed residents of Eastern Visayas and Eastern Mindanao on alert as Tropical Depression Basyang is expected to bring heavy rainfall in the coming hours, with a possible landfall late Thursday night or early Friday, as reported by RH Edniel Parrosa.
According to the OCD, there is a significant chance that either Eastern Visayas or Eastern Mindanao could be directly affected by the eye of the storm.
While landfall is projected between Thursday night and Friday morning, weather authorities noted that Basyang may still intensify into a tropical storm while traversing the Philippine Sea. However, it could weaken once it makes landfall over the eastern sections of the country.
In its latest weather bulletin issued at 11 a.m., the weather bureau reported that Tropical Depression Basyang continues to maintain its strength while moving southwestward east of Mindanao.
The center of the storm was last located 735 kilometers east of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, packing maximum sustained winds of up to 55 kilometers per hour near the center, with gusts reaching 70 kilometers per hour and a central pressure of 1002 hectopascals.
Signal No. 1 remains raised over parts of Surigao del Sur.
OCD Urges Public Safety and Preparedness
In preparation for the potential impact, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), through the OCD, has issued directives to its regional offices covering Eastern Visayas and Eastern Mindanao.
In a memorandum signed by OCD Administrator Undersecretary Harold Cabreros, regional offices were instructed to ensure the immediate dissemination of accurate and timely information to the public, install appropriate warning signs in landslide- and flood-prone areas, and issue necessary travel advisories, including possible suspensions of land and air travel.
The memorandum also called for the strict implementation of preemptive evacuations and the enforcement of a no-sail policy to ensure public safety, even as there are no reported national-scale impacts so far.
The NDRRMC, in coordination with concerned government agencies, also assured the prepositioning of resources and the readiness of personnel, vehicles, and equipment to enable a faster emergency response.
Authorities are urging communities near rivers, watersheds, and low-lying areas to prepare and evacuate early before weather conditions worsen.
