NDRRMC Headquarters, Camp Aquinaldo
4 December 2014

President Benigno S. Aquino III urged all concerned government agencies to organize preemptive measures to all areas along the path of Super Typhoon Ruby (international name: Hagupit) during a briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Council (NDRRMC) Headquarters in Camp Aquinaldo, Quezon City.

With Super Typhoon Ruby to course the same path as that of last year’s Super Typhoon Yolanda, the President directed all agencies to follow the same precautionary steps taken to mitigate its effect by prepositioning all assets needed such as vehicles to be utilized for road clearing operation, evacuation sites and relief goods distribution. He added that with Super Typhoon Yolanda to serve as a template on disaster mitigation, the country should be well-positioned to handle Super Typhoon Ruby.

As of now, the Department of Social Welfare and Development has allotted P10 million for relief goods and family packs to be distributed in evacuation sites and has identified safer warehouses for the supplies. The Department of Trade and Industry is planning to declare a state of calamity on areas that will be affected by the typhoon to impose a price ceiling on basic goods and will mobilize rolling stores after reports of panic buying have been reported in Eastern Visayas.

Sustaining a maximum wind of 220 kph and gustiness of up to 230 kph, Super Typhoon Ruby is projected to make landfall in Samar on Saturday morning (6 December) as it continues to move west northwest at 20 kph. As Ruby goes inland, 19 areas in Visayas will be affected. The typhoon is projected to exit the Philippines area of responsibility (PAR) on Tuesday.

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