Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and Bacolod Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson yesterday called for prayers that Negros Occidental and the Philippines be spared, as authorities warned the public to take precautions against what could be the most powerful storm to hit the country this year.

Western Visayas search and rescue groups, including those of the Philippine National Police, have been placed on alert for the expected super typhoon.

Typhoon "Pablo" entered the Philippine area of responsibility last night, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

PAGASA said that as of 6 p.m. yesterday "Pablo" was located some 900 km southeast of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, with maximum sustained winds of 185 kms per hour with gustiness of up to 220 kph.

PAGASA administrator Nathaniel Servando said the typhoon is expected to further intensify before it makes landfall on Tuesday “over the northeastern part of Mindanao, probably in Surigao City.”

Servando noted that “Pablo’s” wind strength could even go as high as 210 kph, which is equivalent to the strength of a “super typhoon” based on the classification of the US meteorologists.

Servando said that because of the wide diameter of the typhoon, it is expected to bring rains not just over in Mindanao and Visayas, but also in Southern Luzon, including Metro Manila.

The typhoon is expected to bring about 20 to 30 millimeters of rains per hour within the 700-km diameter, which is classified as “heavy to intense,” he said.

He also expected that the typhoon would weaken after making a landfall.

Servando advised the affected residents to prepare for the typhoon as they expect it to be much stronger than tropical storm “Sendong,” which caused massive devastation in Mindanao on Dec. 17 last year.

Servando said that Sendong had sustained winds of only 100 kph upon entering the country, while Pablo was already packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kph before it enters the PAR.

He added that Sendong had a diameter of 500 to 600 km, while Pablo’s diameter already spanned to 700 km.

Marañon and Sayson said they are preparing contingency measures for the possibility that the storm could hit Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.

The governor called on residents residing in flood-prone and coastal areas to take the necessary precautions.

Marañon also called on Negrenses to pray that the storm loses its speed and changes course, so that Negros Occidental is spared from its wrath.

Sayson called for prayers that the storm spares the Philippines.

"This is a powerful storm, perhaps the strongest this year, and we enjoin everyone to take precautionary measures," civil defense office chief Benito Ramos said.

He said local governments in the areas likely to be soaked by heavy rains had been advised to undertake precautionary evacuations if needed, though none has been ordered so far.

The provinces that seem to lie along its path include the Agusan and Surigao areas, then Leyte, Samar, Bohol, Cebu, Negros and Panay, then northern Palawan and Mindoro, but the storm path could still change.*CPG/PNA

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