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Filipino bishop calls for preparedness as storm looms

Typhoon Kammuri is predicted to turn into a Category 5 storm and could threaten Southeast Asian Games
Filipino bishop calls for preparedness as storm looms

A map from state weather forecaster Pagasa shows the path of Typhoon Kammuri, expected to hit the Philippines on Dec. 3. 

Published: November 29, 2019 07:48 AM GMT
Updated: December 02, 2019 02:35 AM GMT

A bishop in the Philippines has called on people to brace themselves as weather forecasters warned of a powerful typhoon that is expected to hit the country this week.

The country's disaster management agency has advised the public to prepare for Typhoon Kammuri, which is predicted to intensify into a super typhoon.

The typhoon, which is moving closer to the northern Philippines, is threatening to hit the venues of this year's Southeast Asian Games.

It is following the same course of two previous typhoons — Durian and Rammasun — that left hundreds of dead and many properties destroyed.

Typhoon Durian wreaked havoc in the Philippines in November 2006, killing about 2,000 people. In 2014, Typhoon Rammasun, was one of only two Category 5 super typhoons on record in the region. It left at least 100 people dead in the Philippines.

In an advisory, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said Kammuri will cause "heavy damage to high-risk structures."

Bishop Joel Baylon of Legazpi called on Catholics to pray "that we may be saved from disaster."

Aside from praying, Bishop Baylon urged everyone to prepare for the typhoon. "Let us prepare and work for zero casualties. Let us care for the most vulnerable among us," said the prelate in a social media post.

In his "Oratio Imperata," Bishop Baylon acknowledged that the people have sinned against God and the rest of creation. "We have not been good stewards of nature. We have confused your command to subdue the earth," he said.

The prelate said the environment "is made to suffer our wrongdoing, and now we reap the harvest of our abuse and indifference."

"Global warming is upon us. Typhoons, rains, floods, drought, volcanic eruptions and other natural calamities occur in increasing number and intensity," added the bishop.

The Philippines' state weather bureau said Typhoon Kammuri was packing maximum sustained winds of up to 130kph near its center and 160kph gusts.

The NDRRMC said the Social Welfare Office has already prepared at least 300,000 family food packs across the country, ready to be delivered to affected areas if needed.

"We cannot leave this storm to chance," said Ricardo Jalad, executive director of the disaster management agency, who advised residents of threatened areas to expect possible evacuations and to take precautionary measures.

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