Red alert status means all the troops must be inside the camps and ready for any deployment. All vacation leaves are suspended.
TYPHOON RESPONSE: File photo of Army soldiers preparing assets for typhoon response operations
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Gregorio Catapang Jr has raised the red alert status among the 4 military commands in Luzon and other supporting units ahead of strong and "difficult" Typhoon Maysak. (READ: PH braces for Typhoon Maysak)
"The
Disaster Response Operations (DRO) teams under the aforementioned major units
are placed on standby to support the local government and the office of the
Civil Defense for possible humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) missions in
calamity-affected areas," the military announced at 1pm on Wednesday,
April 1.
The red alert status covers the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) spanning the area that the typhoon is forecast to hit, and other commands that can provide support – Southern Luzon Command (Solcom), Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTCF-NCR), and Central Command (Centcom) in the Visayas.
It means all the
troops must be inside the camps and ready for any deployment. All vacation
leaves are suspended.
The rest of the
commands in Mindanao are on blue alert status.
After the briefing
of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on
Wednesday, Catapang said what makes this particular typhoon
"difficult" is its timing, as it is expected to enter the country as
people troop to the provinces for Holy Week.
"This is
quite a difficult typhoon. It is not only the typhoon we're thinking about.
It's the Holy Week and so many people are now going to various places. The
problem is how to protect the people – especially tourists – who might be
caught in harms' way," the AFP chief said.
He added:
"Especially foreign tourists, they don't know the evacuation centers.
Where will they go if the typhoon hits their area. These things have to be
settled in the municipal and provincial level."
The NDRRMC has
urged foreign and local tourists to coordinate with local governments
regarding the typhoon. (READ: Holy Week travelers told: Adjust to Typhoon Maysak)
State weather
bureau PAGASA said Typhoon Maysak, to be renamed Chedeng once it enters the
Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), is 5 kilometers per hour short of
being a super typhoon.
It can weaken as
it approaches the country but will remain to be a strong typhoon considering
its strength and diameter of up to 700 kilometers.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/weather-alert/88633-afp-red-alert-maysak
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