Tropical cyclone “Auring” hits PAR, Butuanons brace first cyclone of the year

To ensure the safety of the Butuanon citizens, the Butuan City Disaster Risk and Management Council (BDRRMC) prepared an Emergency Response Preparedness Plan for the first tropical depression, “Auring”, in the Emergency Operation Center, yesterday.

Butuan City officials discussed the precautionary measures in case severe rainfall will cause floods, landslides, flash floods, and strong winds.

Tropical cyclone “Auring” is currently located 595 kilometers southeast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur and has a maximum wind speed of 75 kilometers and gustiness of 90 kilometers per hour.

It is expected that landfalls will occur in CARAGA Region on Sunday and affect various parts of CARAGA, Visayas, and Mimaropa over the weekend until Monday.

As of now, signal no. 1 is raised over several provinces of CARAGA and Davao Region; namely Davao Oriental, eastern proportion of Davao de Oro, southeastern portion of Agusan del Sur, and the southern portion of Surigao del Sur as there is a high possibility that isolated flooding and rain-induced landslides will occur in these areas at risk.

This Wednesday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) formally declared the tropical depression “Auring” as it entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

According to PAG-ASA, “Auring” had maximum sustained winds of 55 kph near the center and gustiness reaching 70 kph.