Marcos directs agencies to prep for Super Typhoon Pepito

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed relevant government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to prepare for the worst-case scenario amid the threat of Super Typhoon Pepito, which is expected to make landfall in the Philippines on Saturday evening or early Sunday morning.

During a situation briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Marcos emphasized the creation of storm surge risk maps and urged immediate action to warn affected areas, with around 200,000 families potentially at risk due to mandatory evacuations in coastal regions starting Friday night.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) chief Nathaniel Servando briefed Marcos about the likelihood of three-meter storm surges when Typhoon Pepito intensifies, prompting LGUs to prepare for worst-case scenarios.

Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced that evacuation points at least five meters above ground level are being identified and secured, with 11,448 families or 35,335 individuals already staying in temporary shelters as of Saturday morning.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to produce food packs to replenish those being distributed in disaster response operations, maintaining a national stockpile of 1.3 million family food packs with plans to produce an additional one million by December 7.

Pepito is the Philippines' 16th tropical cyclone for 2024 and the sixth storm in less than a month, causing damage to over P320 million worth of infrastructure, P855,000 worth of agriculture, and 62.21 hectares of crops.