In line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to ensure public safety during typhoons, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has advised local government units (LGUs) to implement preemptive evacuation particularly in areas along the path of Super Typhoon Pepito due to increased landslide risk.

“Ang pangamba natin diyan, iyong mga dati nang dinaanan [ng bagyo] basang-basa na iyong lupa diyan. Iyan iyong heavily saturated areas na dati nang landslide prone areas. Delikado na, mas delikado ngayon iyan,” Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, OCD administrator, said during the news forum in Quezon City on Saturday.

“Kaya’t iyong preemptive evacuation at forced evacuate, iyan ang una nating dapat sundin. Iyong pagtulong ng gobyerno later on. Ang importante rito ay iyong evacuation,” he added.

The OCD official said 100 millimeters of rain a day is the threshold for landslides to occur.

The information on the risks and the need for evacuation are being cascaded to local government units to move people to safer grounds, he said.

Flooding in Bicol, particularly in Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, is expected as these provinces would be affected by the rainband based on PAGASA’s forecast, he said. Preemptive evacuation in those areas must be implemented, he added.

Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Ilocos, and Cagayan Valley regions, and Cordillera Administrative Region are also expected to be hit by the typhoon, according to current forecast. |PND