PREPARED. Mayor Michael Rama is seen wearing a rescuer's helmet as a priest blesses the responders who are placed on 24-hour standby in preparation for the entry of Tropical Storm Rai (Odette), in front of the Cebu City Hall on Tuesday (Dec. 14, 2021). Rama placed the city under a state of preparedness due to the incoming typhoon. (Screengrab from Cebu City PIO video) CEBU CITY - Responders from the Cebu City government and partner agencies are now on 24-hour standby alert after Mayor Michael Rama placed the city under a state of preparedness, an official said on Tuesday. Local government units in Central Visayas are bracing for Tropical Storm Rai that would be named "Odette" once it enters the Philippine area of responsibility. Ramil Ayuman, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO), said as the city is now under a Blue Alert status, his office placed all their disaster response equipment on standby at the incident command post in the City Hall. The CCDRRMO also established a staging area in the upland village of Pung-ol Sibugay to monitor threats of landslides in the hinterland. Responders can also preposition their equipment in the area. Partner agencies like the Bureau of Fire and Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, the military, and the police are also on standby for the worst-case scenario in case the storm brings destruction to the coastal and upland villages, Ayuman said. "We have identified schools and churches here as possible evacuation areas. But the biggest evacuation site that we have in Cebu City is the Abellana National School," he said in Cebuano. Among the areas in the lowland barangays that are under close watch is Sitio Lawis in Mambaling where 4,000 coastal residents are residing, he noted. "The office of (City Councilor Jerry) Guardo also gave a heads up to electronic or LED billboards to take them down before Typhoon Odette enters our jurisdiction. They also need to take down giant tarpaulins," Ayuman added. Rama, who led a send-off ceremony for the responders on Tuesday afternoon, said parts of at least 38 villages in the city are being monitored for possible threats of flooding and about 11 upland barangays for possible landslides. Meanwhile, Cebu City Police Office deputy director for operations, Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, said they prepositioned the Cebu Mobile Force Company in landslide-prone areas. "Based on the report, this typhoon will be more on heavy rainfall. In our mountain areas, the police officers will be there on stand-by to assist responders in areas where landslides are a threat to the residents," he said. (PNA) }