OCD, hinikayat ang publiko na pakinggan at sundin ang El Niño advisories, warnings

PINAALALAHANAN ng Office of Civil Defense (OCD) ang publiko na pakinggan at sundin ang mga advisories  ng  awtoridad hinggil sa El Niño at magpatupad ng kinakailangang hakbang bilang paghahanda para sa epekto ng nasabing  phenomenon.

Ito’y matapos na itaas ng Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) ang  monitoring status  mula sa  El Niño watch sa El Niño alert, araw ng Martes.

Sa isang memorandum, may petsang  May 3, inatasan ng National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) ang  regional DRRMCs at OCD regional offices na magpatupad ng “preparedness actions” kabilang na ang mahigpit na pagmo-monitor sa warnings mula sa  PAGASA, pagpapalabas ng mga paalala ukol sa water at energy conservation,  pagpapanatili ng water distribution systems para maiwasan ang pag-aaksaya.

“This also includes the strengthening of risk communication and localization of warnings and reminders to communities, adherence to the public health advisory for El Niño and minimum health standards for Covid-19 issued by the Department of Health, and the submission of regular reports to NDRRM Operations Center,” ayon sa ulat.

Ang  interagency meeting ay idinaos noong Abril  24 kung saan pinamunuan ni OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno.

Binigyang diin ni  Nepomuceno ang pangangailangan na kilalanin at pagsama-samahin ang short term solutions, medium term at long term solutions ng mga concerned government agencies para sa  El Niño phenomenon.

Ang komposisyon ng panukalang  El Niño team na pangungunahan ng  Department of the Interior and Local Government, ay ipinresenta ng  OCD,  magsisilbi rin  bilang  team co-chair, kasama ang Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Energy, Department of Health, Department of Science and Technology, National Economic and Development Authority, National Irrigation Administration at Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System bilang mga miyembro.

Maroon itong support team na binubuo naman ng Presidential Communications Office, Department of Trade and Industry, National Water Resources Board at Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Araw ng Miyerkules, Abril 3, nagpulong ang iba’t ibang ahensiya ng pamahalaan para pag-usapan ang mga paraan tungo sa paghahanda para sa  El Niño.

“Let’s work together to make sure that we will be able to comply with the President’s (Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.) guidance and do what is expected from us in the first place,” ang pahayag ni  OCD deputy administrator Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV sa  isang panayam.

Ang  El Niño Watch ay naging epektibo mula Marso 23 hanggang Mayo 1 bago pa itaas ng PAGASA ang monitoring status sa  El Niño Alert.

“PAGASA has been continuously monitoring the developing El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific. Recent conditions and model forecasts indicate that El Niño may emerge in the coming season (June-July-August) at 80 percent probability and may persist until the first quarter of 2024. With this development, the PAGASA El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Alert and Warning System is now raised to El Niño Alert,” ang sinabi ng  state weather bureau sa isang  advisory nito.

“El Niño increases the likelihood of below normal rainfall conditions which could bring negative impacts such as dry spells and droughts in some areas of the country,” dagdag na wika ng PAGASA. (Daris Jose)