BAGUIO CITY (PIA) - - The Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CRDRRMC) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and the different Provincial/Municipal DRRM  councils  are on  heightened alert for monitoring of possible effects of Typhoon Betty  in the region.

As of 11:00AM  Monday (May 29) PAGASA forecast, five of the six provinces of Cordillera namely Abra, Apayao, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province are under  Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal number 1. No  TCWS  is raised over Benguet  including Baguio City. 

All these areas, as of ths writing,  are   experiencing  partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers.

The center of Typhoon Betty  as of 10:00AM,  was estimated based on all available data at 470 km East of Aparri, Cagayan packing a maximum sustained winds of 155 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 190km/h and is moving Northwestward at 15 km/h.

The EOC of the provincial DRRM councils of Abra, Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and Baguio City are  synchronized  with the Red Alert of the CRDRRMC EOC, while  Benguet and Ifugao operation centers are on Blue alert.   

The CRDRRMC EOC  also shows  no weather – related incident recorded in the region, to date.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development – Cordillera (DSWD – CAR), the CRDRRMC’s lead agency for disaster response,  reported that  a total of 48,744 Family Food Packs and 27,966 Non – food Items   are  strategically prepositioned at the regional warehouse in La Trinidad,  Benguet and  in the different  satellite warehouses and local government units in the region.

The DSWD – CAR also maintain a  standby fund of P4.43 million. 

Quick reaction teams are on standby alert and in close monitoring with the different LGUs regionwide.

The Police Regional Office – Cordillera, the 503rd Brigade of the Philippine Army and the Bureau of Fire Protection – Cordillera, the Department of Public Works and Highways - Cordillera also have response teams and equipment that are on standby alert and ready to augment or provide emergency support. (JDP/CCD-PIA CAR)