FLASH UPDATE No.

1
Philippines: Severe Tropical Storm Nalgae/Paeng
As of 29 October 2022, 9 p.m. local time

Situation Overview
Severe tropical storm Nalgae (locally named Paeng) has brought heavy rains and strong winds to the
Philippines and affected several hundreds of thousands of people, most severe in Regions 5, 6, 8, 12 and
BARMM, over 557,000 are affected only in BARMM. At least 170,000 people are taking temporary shelter in and
outside evacuation centres. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has
reported that the storm left at least 45 people dead, injured 33 with 14 missing, due to flash floods and
landslides. All numbers are expected to increase.
Nalgae is the 16th tropical cyclone to form in the Philippines this season and has already made five landfalls:
(1) Virac, Catanduanes, (2) Caramoan, Camarines Sur, (3) Buenavista, Quezon, (4) Santa Cruz, Marinduque and
(5) San Juan, Batangas. Although wind signals have not gone beyond No 3. (89-117km/h), the storm's large
rainbands and trough has brought heavy and torrential rains flooding areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
This is a massive storm with over 1,100km in diameter and is affecting majority of the country. While it is not
expected to have as severe impact in terms of wind, it has brought significant amount of rain over a short
period of time across almost the entire country.
In Mindanao, monsoon rain, exacerbated by shear line and the storm led to the inundation of more than
142,000 households affecting over 557,000 people from Central Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula as
reported by the BARMM authorities. Massive flooding was recorded in Cotabato City, Maguindanao, Special
Geographic Areas (SGAs), Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Zamboanga City.
As a precaution, the Philippine Ports Authority has suspended trips due to bad weather. Many flights along the
storm's path have likewise been cancelled with Metro Manila International Airport temporarily suspending all
flights in the afternoon of 29 October, local time. The Department of Energy has reported power outages in
affected areas including Metro Manila.
Based on the latest weather update from national weather agency PAGASA, Nalgae has maintained its
strength as it traversed through Cavite, Batangas and Metro Manila. The storm is expected to exit the
Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by 31 October. PAGASA already released an advisory of another
weather system that is being formed outside PAR and may affect the country next week. This could potentially
affect areas already saturated with heavy rains and could result in additional landslides.

Government preparedness and response

National Level
The Government of the Philippines is leading preparedness and response activities. NDRRMC has been on Red
Alert status since 27 October and has held several operational briefings prior to Nalgae's landfall on 29
October.
Local government units, from province to barangay levels, in Metro Manila, Region 4, and parts of Region 3 and
5, have been placed under Charlie or Red Alert by the NDRRMC. Search, rescue and retrieval teams are
ongoing. Some areas are currently inaccessible due to washed out roads and bridges. The Department of
Social Welfare and Development has deployed Family Food Packs and other essential items to affected
communities. As of 29 October, over US$68,000 (PHP 4 million) worth of humanitarian assistance has been
disbursed.
PAGASA is closely monitoring the status of river basins and dams. The second alarm was raised on Marikina
River in Manila on 29 October as its water level breached 16 meters, risking possible overflowing. PHIVOLCS
has warned of possible lahar flows from Mayon volcano in Bicol. Information may change as more data
becomes available.

The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to
Coordinate the global emergency response to save lives and protect people in humanitarian crises.
We advocate for effective and principled humanitarian action by all, for all.
www.unocha.org
 OCHA Flash Update | 2

BARMM
On 29 October, BARMM has declared a region-wide state of Calamity due to STS Nalgae, directing all
ministries and other government agencies to implement and execute search and rescue, medical assistance,
relief and rehabilitation work in line with plans and directives. The Bangsamoro Regional Risk Reduction and
Management Council has activated its Emergency Operations Center. RDRRRMC also activated Incident
Command Post (ICP) on site, in area considered as ground zero in Kushiong, Datu Odin Sinsuat.
While there have been offers of support from the National Government and other regions, the RDRRM Council
agreed to exhaust available resources and capacities in the region first. They have indicated a need to map
out available resources or offers from the national and regional level and other entities, for easy facilitation
where gaps would exist.
The Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) of BARMM has activated the food and non-food
cluster and distributed 300 ready to eat food packs in Cotabato City and 900 in Maguindanao, organized
community kitchen and provided NFIs including sleeping kits. Cotabato City LGU organized community kitchen
to affected communities. Bangsamoro READi dispatched rubber boats and dump trucks and requested the
National Government support on logistics for water purifiers. Fire trucks are deployed for water rationing in
various areas. Search and rescue teams from the BFP, Armed Forces of the Philippines’ 6th ID, 99th IB and
404th Ready Reserved IB complemented the region’s SRR teams.

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.
OCHA coordinated with its government counterparts in the Regional and Provincial level in the Bangsamoro
Region and participated in the RDRRMC and Maguindanao PDRRMC meetings, respectively. The Mindanao
Humanitarian Team (MHT) is continuously monitoring IDP needs and coordinating with BARMM cluster
leads. In coordination with BARMM, a Joint Need Rapid Needs Assessment is planned for 30-31 October to
eight clustered areas to assess the impact in the region and to determine possible response priorities.
Oxfam in a consortium of INGOs have activated their rapid response to affected communities while many other
UN agencies and INGOs already expressed their commitment to support both in BARMM and at the national
level. PRC activated their early action mechanism to distribute and install Shelter Strengthening Kits to 100
pre-identified families in the province of Aurora and are planning additional support activities. The Philippine
Disaster Resilience Foundation’s (PDRF) Emergency Operations Center is on Red Alert status and is
coordinating with the private sector, particularly for the possible restoration of the lifeline utilities.
The Pacific Disaster Center (PDC), OCHA and WFP prepared the Joint Analysis of Disaster Exposure (JADE) for
TS Nalgae/Paeng. OCHA already activated UNOSAT charter for analysis of flooded areas.

For more information, contact:

Manja Vidic, Head of Office, vidic@un.org
Melissa Correa, Reporting Officer, melissa.correa@un.org

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

www.unocha.org