Marcos to NDRRMC: Prioritize finding typhoon evacuees in isolated areas

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) should prioritize helping find those evacuees affected by Typhoon Carina.

During the situation briefer with the NDRRMC on the country’s current situation amid the onslaught of the typhoon and “habagat," Marcos asked the agency to prioritize locating isolated areas to speed up the deployment and distribution of aid during heavy rain and flooding.

"That’s what we need to see, moving focus our attention so that the moment the water recedes and the roads become passable, rescuers can get there immediately," Marcos said in a mix of English and Filipino.

"To prepare properly, we need to know where they are. We need to identify those areas so that we’ll know which ones haven’t received help yet," Marcos added.

Heavy rain and flooding from Typhoon Carina and the “habagat” submerged numerous roads in Metro Manila, disrupting both traffic and emergency response efforts.

As of 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, Typhoon Carina was located approximately 345 kilometers north-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, with maximum sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts up to 205 kph, according to the state weather bureau.

During the same briefing, the NDRRMC informed the President that the Ipo Dam and Bingo Dam had already announced at 11 a.m. that they would be opening their gates to release water.

Therefore, Marcos instructed relevant government agencies to ensure that communities near dams are warned and evacuated before water is released, particularly in Luzon.

“Have the areas that received notices or aid been able to evacuate? That’s what we need to ensure. Let’s avoid just notifying them," Marcos said.

"It's not enough to simply inform them. We need to send vehicles for evacuation. [Transport them to] the nearest evacuation center or a place that can be used as one," Marcos added.

Marcos also recommended evacuating residents to shelters overnight to "prepare for the downstream."

Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., in the same briefing, informed the President that it should be standard protocol to alert downstream communities about impending water releases from dams.