OZAMIZ
CITY: The two Misamis provinces are among the 56 listed as “critical” when
typhoon Hagupit landfalls in the country on Thursday, the NDRRMC and PAGASA said.
Fourty-four
of the 56 provinces are in Alert Level C, said the report, and may suffer heavy
damage to agriculture and disruption of travel and electrical power.
With
both Misamis Occidental and Oriental are the two districts of Zamboanga Peninsula: Norte, the
biggest in land area, and Sur.
Provinces
with Alert Level C, according to PAGASA, has an estimated rain of 10-20 meters
per hour (from heavy to intense) with winds somewhere between 95-110 kph.
Zamboanga
Sibugay, meanwhile, will be on Alert Level B, along with Maguindanao, Davao del
Sur and North Cotabato. They will have rains of 5-10 meters per hour (moderate
to heavy) and with winds of 30-60 kph.
GMA
News has reported that the DSWD is setting aside a standby fund of P18-million
in its field offices.
Earlier
in its meeting, the NDRRMC said it will adopt a "twinning system," which
means that authorities in a region would take over the activity for its twin
region's operations in case the latter is severely affected by the storm.
Residents
of coastal villages and landslide-prone communities in central Philippines were
told to move to government-designated evacuation areas, as the Hagupit is now moving
towards Eastern Samar with winds of up to 140 kph and gusts of up to 170 kph.
Hagupit
is said to be hovering over Palau islands at the moment and is expected to lift
up its might before hitting eastern Philippines on the weekend.
Tropical
Storm Risk forecasts the tropical storm will become a category 4 typhoon in 36
hours, adding there’s a 75 percent chance the it will hit land.
About
20 typhoons strike the country each year, most hitting the main island of
Luzon.