It’s the holiday season—which, ironically, means it’s the time of the year again when we need to be on high alert for possible natural disasters.
In case your phone hasn’t been buzzing with NDRRMC updates on the coming storm, Typhoon Tisoy has entered the country and will be expected to exit on Thursday morning, moving west at 20 kph. Signals No. 1 to 3 have already been raised throughout the country (it’s Signal No. 2 in Metro Manila).
Because of the intensifying storm, social media has been aflutter with fearmongering posts, which unfortunately has become customary in times of disaster. One of these is a report that says that Meralco will be shutting off power in all areas as a safety measure. Charge all your devices now, it reads, as the company will cut it off once the winds start blowing stronger.
“WE WILL NOT shut off power to any unaffected area,” the electric power distribution company posted on their Facebook page in response. “Meralco is continuously monitoring typhoon Tisoy and we are anticipating that some areas of our franchise may be affected,” they also said.
To be fair, though, even if the post circulating on social media is false, it’s still good advice. It’s always best to be prepared when a storm is coming, and that includes making sure you’ve charged all your devices and have food rations in your household just in case.
Besides, Meralco also released a press statement on Nov. 29 saying that they’re “prepared to declare a general state of alert and is gearing all efforts to prepare its systems and personnel to immediately respond to power outages that may result from Typhoon Tisoy.”
So although we should refrain from creating unnecessary panic, let’s still remain cautious.
Featured photo courtesy of Osman Rana on Unsplash
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Writer: ZOFIYA ACOSTA
