Public warned: Brace for storm surges

torm surges two to three meters high can possibly occur in coastal communities where storm signal nos. and were raised, the Department of cience and Technology (DO T) warned yesterday.

DO T said residents in these areas should move to higher ground and ta e e tra precautions, after Typhoon lenda gained strength as it hit the Bicol region yesterday.

cience ecretary ario onte o urged the public to stay informed and be prepared in the face of the approaching typhoon by monitoring weather bulletins issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, eophysical and Astronomical ervices Administration (PA A A) and information from the ationwide Operational Assessment of a ards ( Pro ect OA ) and the Disaster Ris and posure Assessment for itigation (Pro ect DR A ).

Information is a vital tool that we can use to plan wisely for natural ha ards such as typhoons to reduce our losses. e call on the public to heed the warnings issued by our monitoring and warning agencies as we are using the best tools available, onte o said.

e urged ilipinos to remain alert and follow the precautions and guidelines to stay safe.

Our best tool to prevent a disaster and ensure everyone s safety is to use information available to us and the lessons from our past e periences, he said.

ahar Lagmay, e ecutive director of Pro ect OA , advised residents in communities under storm surge alert warnings to move to higher ground, particularly if the area is low-lying or flat.

The storm surge simulation and list of affected municipalities were posted on Pro ect OA s website and blog onday night.

onte o urged local disaster responders and the public to refer their ueries to weather warning agencies.

The public may contact PA A A at - - and - or follow it on Facebook.com/pagasa. dost. gov. ph or Twitter account dost_pagasa for live updates.