Hanna enters PAR; blue alert raised

MANILA, Philippines - Typhoon Hanna (international name Soudelor) entered the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday and is expected to enhance the rain-inducing southwest monsoon in the next few days, the state weather bureau said.

Hanna slightly weakened, with its maximum sustained winds going from 215 kilometers per hour on Tuesday afternoon to 195 kph before noon yesterday, while its gustiness decreased from 250 kph to 230 kph, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

As of 10 a.m. yesterday, the eye of Hanna was spotted at 1,380 kilometers east of Calayan, Cagayan and was moving west-northwest at 20 kph.

Hanna is the eighth tropical cyclone to enter the country this year and the first weather disturbance this month.

PAGASA said Hanna was expected to dump moderate to heavy rains within its 600-km diameter.

No public storm warning signals were raised as of yesterday noon.

However, PAGASA advised fishermen not to venture out to the eastern seaboard of the Visayas and the seaboards of Mindanao due to big waves generated by the southwest monsoon.

Hanna is expected to be at 910 km east northeast of Calayan, or at 850 km east of Itbayat, Batanes this morning.

It would be at 375 km east northeast of Itbayat tomorrow morning and 400 km north northwest of Itbayat by Saturday.

On Sunday, it is expected to be 770 km northwest of Itbayat or outside the Philippine area of responsibility.

Blue alert

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) operations center has been placed on blue alert as it continues to monitor the areas to be affected by Hanna.

The blue alert took effect at 8 a.m. yesterday, according to Lenie Alegre, chief of the national disaster risk reduction and management service.

“We have issued an advisory to our regional offices that they need to conduct disaster risk assessment. Our response teams are now on standby,” Alegre said.

NDRRMC has also directed its field units to initiate preemptive evacuation of families in low-lying and mountainous areas if necessary.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has placed Northern Mindanao under red alert after at least seven persons were reported killed and two others missing, following flashfloods caused by monsoon rains as well as some reported pocket tornadoes in Valencia City, Bukidnon.

According to the Valencia City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, those missing were children crossing a river on their way home from school.

The fatalities were mostly children, including a six-month old baby.

Valencia City police chief Supt. Alfonso Abanales told The STAR that around 227 families or 793 individuals have been evacuated to the city gymnasium as of yesterday afternoon.

Authorities said serach and rescue operations are ongoing.

Meanwhile, Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Public Affairs Committee, urged the faithful to continue praying for protection and deliverance from Hanna.

He said one appropriate prayer would be the Oratio Imperata for Deliverance from Calamities that was previously issued by the Archdiocese of Manila. – With Gerry Lee Gorit, Evelyn Macairan, Alexis Romero, Ben Serrano