DOTC, attached agencies now in full alert for Yolanda
November 6, 2013 | 5:36pm
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications and all of its sectoral and attached agencies are now on full alert status in preparation for the expected arrival of super-typhoon Yolanda on Friday.
The weather disturbance is expected to pack winds at 200 kilometers per hour upon landfall over the Samar-Leyte area by noon on Friday.
It is estimated to traverse westward across Regions 6, 7, and 8 until it exits the Philippine Area of Responsibility sometime Saturday evening to Sunday morning.
"Safety is always our priority. We want to have the least number of casualties possible, and we placed all transport agencies on Full Alert Status precisely to ensure that," DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said.
During a full alert status, each DOTC attached agency has its own emergency plans and protocols, including increased safety inspections, enhancing provisions for affected passengers, and deploying patrol vehicles and quick response teams.
The transport agencies will be securing vessels and aircrafts at ports and airports, closely monitoring the situation to decide if and when it is necessary to suspend or cancel trips, and providing crucial real-time reporting to the public.
The DOTC also underscored the value of real-time information dissemination to the public as well as to transport operators, to enable faster and better decision-making for both authorities and the public.
Earlier, the Philippine Coast Guard has also deployed 40 rubber boats and 30 aluminum boats to its substations in the Visayas for emergency rescue operations.
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