Philippines: Super Typhoon Noru/ Karding Flash Update No.1 (As of 25 September 2022, 8 p.m. local time)

Situation Overview

On 25 September, tropical cyclone Noru (locally named Karding) undergone explosive intensification and became of super typhoon strength while it continues to move westward towards eastern seaboard of the Philippines. It marks one of the fastest rapid intensifications ever recorded in the Pacific basin. According to the Philippines weather bureau, PAGASA, Super Typhoon Noru’s eyewall is currently affecting Polillo Islands packing maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h and gustiness of up to 240 km/h (10-min interval). It is expected to make landfall in Quezon Province or Aurora Province in densely populated central Luzon later tonight. As per PAGASA, a landfall scenario as a super typhoon is increasingly likely as well that it will remain a typhoon strength while crossing the landmass of Luzon. Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 5 (185 km/h or higher), the highest possible, has been raised over Polillo Islands portions of the provinces Quezon, Bulacan and Pampanga, while there is a high risk of storm surge in the low-lying and exposed coastal areas. Parts of Metro Manila (Marikina, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, and Quezon City) are currently under TCWS No 4. (118-184 km/h), while the rest of the region is under TCWS No.3 (89-117km/h). Some parts of Luzon — home to some 64 million people, including in metropolitan Manila and outlying suburbs — are expected to experience heavy rains, risking inundation of large areas. Scattered to widespread flooding and rain-induced landslides are expected, especially in highly susceptible areas and in localities with significant antecedent rainfall. Due to the Southwest Monsoon enhanced by Noru occasional to monsoon rains are possible over Visayas and the rest of Southern Luzon, especially on their western sections. In terms of strength, track and possible impact, the government is comparing this typhoon with Ketsana (Ondoy) in 2009 that submerged several parts of Manila in floodwater and Vamco (Ulysses) in 2020. The storm is expected to exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility by 27 September.

Government response preparations

The Government of the Philippines is leading preparations for response activities. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) convened its members early 25 September to prepare the country for Typhoon Karding after its unique rapid intensification over the last 24 hours before landfall. Local government units, from province to barangay levels, in Regions 1 to 4, the entire Luzon Island that makes up the northern third of the country, as well as Region 5, Bicol, have been placed under Charlie or Red Alert by the NDRRMC according to the protocols under the Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) Manual for Local Government Units.

Heightened monitoring of the hazard is imposed, and appropriate preparedness and response measures are being undertaken to ensure safety and preservation of lives and properties. The government commenced with large scale pre-emptive evacuations, prepositioning of life-saving relief goods and contingency measures for the power outages and disruption in communications. NDRRMC also put into heightened alert the following government clusters: Food and NFI, Protection, Logistics, Camp Coordination and Camp Management, Education, Search and Rescue, Law and Order and Emergency Telecommunications.

PAGASA is closely monitoring the status of river basins and dams while the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has shared updated information on areas highly susceptible to landslides and debris flow. Information may change as more data becomes available.

Humanitarian partners preparedness activities and coordination

The Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) under the leadership of the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC) is closely monitoring the situation and is on stand-by to support government response through the clusters, should there be a need.

In the afternoon of 25 September OCHA convened an HCT meeting, where HCT members, including UN agencies, NGOs, IFRC and the private sector shared updates on their planned activities. WFP has pre-deployed a team to the WFP Warehouse in Pampanga which houses pre-positioned stocks of emergency logistics and ETC equipment such as MSU’s and generators. As part of the joint project with DICT, WFP has prepositioned 2 GECSMOVE sets (Government Emergency Communications System – Mobile Operations Vehicle for Emergencies), in strategic areas.

FAO is closely coordinating with the Department of Agriculture of storm’s impact on the agriculture sector. As harvest season is approaching for the affected areas around 1.5m hectares of rice and 218k hectares of corn may be affected. These account for 75% and 52% of the national standing for these crops, respectively. The Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation’s (PDRF) Emergency Operations Center is on Red Alert status and is coordinating with the private sector on their possible support, particularly for water and emergency power. Clusters also started to map their humanitarian partners on the ground and have initiated coordination meetings with their respective national and local government counterparts. Clusters are on stand-by for possible rapid needs assessments to the affected areas in coordination with the government. HCT continues to monitor the situation while they brace for impact on their staff and operations as Metro Manila too is being affected by this powerful storm.

For more information, contact:
Manja Vidic, Head of Office, vidic@un.org
Melissa Correa, Reporting Officer, melissa.correa@un.org