Gov’t, public alert intensified due to Supertyphoon ‘Nando’
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and all its 44 member agencies stepped up preparations for Supertyphoon “Nando” (international name: Ragasa), which was undergoing “rapid intensification” and may remain in the country until Tuesday afternoon.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Sunday ordered all local government units (LGUs) in Nando’s projected path to immediately carry out preemptive evacuations to safeguard residents.
“Lives are at stake. Preemptive evacuation is no longer an option. It is an obligation of government and a responsibility of communities,” Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said, prompting LGUs to immediately move families away from storm surges, flooding and landslide-prone zones.
LGUs were instructed to ensure evacuation centers are powered, stocked with supplies and safe for evacuees; to secure critical infrastructure; and to provide food and humanitarian aid.
Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling also ordered government shelter clusters in northern and Central Luzon to remain ready to extend immediate assistance.
“We want quick response to assist possible victims of a disaster,” Aliling said. “DHSUD is ready to extend emergency response and humanitarian assistance as needed.”
The DHSUD already ordered its regional offices in Regions 1 (Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon), 4A (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon or Calabarzon), 4B (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan or Mimaropa), 5 (Bicol) and the Cordillera Administrative Region to activate their respective shelter clusters on Saturday.
Emergency shelter
In 2023, DHSUD launched the Integrated Disaster Shelter Assistance Program (Idsap) that provides unconditional cash assistance to families with destroyed or damaged houses due to calamities, whether man-made or naturally induced.
Apart from Idsap, the DHSUD also previously distributed housing materials and essentials as immediate assistance to affected families.
The Department of National Defense’s (DND) Office of Civil Defense, the NDRRMC’s implementing arm, remains ready to respond to disasters all over the country, according to DND Assistant Secretary Bernardo Alejandro IV.
But Remulla said the threat is now greater and appropriate measures must be implemented swiftly.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) first sighted Nando in the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Sept. 17. Meteorologists expected conditions that may strengthen the system, but it quickly outpaced forecasts.
Nando was not expected to become the first supertyphoon of the 2025 season until Monday, but it had gathered enough strength by Saturday morning.
Pagasa warned that urbanized and low-lying communities, as well as areas near rivers and mountainous terrain, are at heightened risk.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau has listed more than 2,700 barangays nationwide, including over 930 in Metro Manila, as susceptible to floods and landslides until Sept. 23.
The DILG stressed that even barangays not included in the official risk list may still be affected, particularly those near identified danger zones.
As of 5 p.m. on Sunday, according to the bulletin of Pagasa, Nando’s center of the eye was located at 450 kilometers east of Aparri, Cagayan.
It has maximum sustained winds of 185 km per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph.
It maintains its strength as it moves west-northwestward at 15 kph over the Philippine Sea.
Nando is expected to exit PAR by Sept. 23, around 2 p.m., when it is projected to be at 520 km west of Basco, Batanes.
