MANILA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Monday declared a red alert status in anticipation of the landfall of Typhoon Yutu in Northern Philippines on Tuesday morning.
NDRRMC spokesperson and director for operations Edgar Posadas said in a briefing in the presidential palace that this means all the 44 member agencies of the disaster council are on standby and ready to lend a hand in case response is needed from the national government.
Posadas said the four of NDRRMC regional offices in Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley Region, Central Luzon Region and the Cordillera Administrative Region are also on red alert.
He said the Search Rescue and Retrieval team (SRRT) composed of uniformed personnel of the Philippine Army and the Philippine Air force are also on standby.
"We also have prepositioned in those areas generator sets and chainsaws as augmentation to the existing resources of the region and of course we have the whole NDRRMC on standby right now to respond just in case we're needed," he added.
Posadas added that relief goods and emergency kits had also been prepositioned in areas within the typhoon path.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is ready to appoint and deploy a cabinet secretary to act as point person in the areas to be hit by the typhoon if the need arises.
Typhoon Yutu is described to have the potential to be a super typhoon.
It is the Philippines' 18th tropical cyclone for 2018. The country usually gets an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year.
