DFA cautions Filipinos in US east coast affected by ‘bomb cyclone’

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs advised the Filipinos in the northeast United States to observe necessary precautions as a severe winter storm has started pounding the area Thursday.

“Our kababayans residing in or visiting the Northeastern US are advised to observe the necessary precautions, avoid non-essential travel, and have emergency contact numbers in preparation for this extreme weather situation,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement Thursday. 

He urged Filipinos to closely monitor weather reports and heed instructions from local authorities.

According to the DFA, around 340,000 Filipinos could be affected by bomb cyclone—the informal name for the meteorological phenomenon called “bombogenesis”—caused by the rapid decline of air pressure.

Consul General Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega said 35,000 Filipinos in the New England states—Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont—would be most impacted by the extreme weather condition.

The bomb cyclone was forecast to bring hurricane-force winter winds and six to 12 inches of snow in the New England states and from three to six inches of snow in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut areas.

The explosive winter storm has already claimed lives of 12 individuals, US media outlets reported.

Most of the US is already battling the winter spell since late December. Even warmer regions like Florida has experienced snow for the first time in three decades.