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MANILA — The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has placed 5 regions in Luzon under red alert due to the threat of super typhoon Goring (international name: Saola).

NDRRMC spokesperson Edgar Posadas on Sunday said the five regions under the council's highest alert status included the Cordilleras, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Mimaropa.

Posadas added that the council itself was also on red alert, implementing heightened preparedness measures as the cyclone intensified into a super typhoon while barreling towards northern Luzon.

Under red alert, the council's emergency operations center (EOC) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, as well as its local counterparts, are in full force both physically and virtually. NDRRMC member agencies critical to response and preparedness are also fully staffed to address emergencies more quickly, he said.

"Nagdesisyon [kami] na itaas sa red alert para mas matutukan po natin itong pagresponde o i-address iyong mga pangangailangan dito sa Bagyong Goring," Posadas told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

(We decided to place these regions under red alert to ensure that we are more focused and prepared in responding or addressing all that is needed from us as Super Typhoon Goring threatens Luzon.)

Red alert is the NDRRMC's highest status in a three-level system, which also consists of white and blue alerts.

Posadas assured the public that there was nothing to be concerned about the red alert status, as it is a protocol internally implemented by the NDRRMC and its member agencies.

"Sa mga mamamayan, ang ibig lang pong sabihin nito ay mas mataas iyong lebel ng kahandaan kaysa doon sa usual," he said.

(To the public, this only means that we are heightening our preparedness more than the usual.)

Posadas noted that the NDRRMC has identified the needs of the 5 regions under red alert, and that the council's resources were ready as they sought "the guidance of the President."

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday said that 10,000 food packs were prepared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for distribution in northern Luzon.

"Nakatutok ang ating pamahalaan sa sitwasyon ng northern Luzon na muling nakararanas ng malakas na ulan at hangin na dala ng Bagyong Goring," Marcos said in a tweet.

(Our government is closely monitoring the situation in northern Luzon as it experiences strong rains and winds brought by Super Typhoon Goring.)

Goring intensified into a super typhoon early Sunday morning, packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour near the center and up to 230 kph gusts.

• Goring now a super typhoon: PAGASA