Thursday, January 15, 2009 5 more days of downpour By Cong B. Corrales
RESIDENTS in Northern Mindanao are likely to endure five more days of heavy rains.
An official of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Service Administration (Pagasa) said Wednesday there is a 70 percent chance that Northern Mindanao would have to endure five more days of moderate to heavy rainfall.
Mario C. Guya, Pagasa weather specialist, said satellite imageries taken by Japan Meteorological Satellite reveal that rain clouds continue to hover and form over much of Northern Mindanao.
Pagasa Officer-in-Charge Ric Ricardo also told Sun.Star that people living beside the river and near the coastlines should be on extra alert as the tail-end of a cold front is still in much of Northern Mindanao.
According to the Lumbia Pagasa Station, Wednesday's heavy rainfall was measured at 104.4 millimeters (24-hour rainfall).
In Pagasa's climatological normal rainfall table, January has registered 82.8 millimeters of ten rainy days.
Ricardo said the normal amount of rainfall for this month has already been surpassed in just one day.
"Sa isa ka adlaw lang na surpass na ang monthly average. Busa devastating kaayo ang ulan last night kay ang normal monthly average of precipitable water was way above normal levels," Ricardo said.
"And to think that we still have 15 more days left in January," added Ricardo.
No storms system emerging
Mario Guya, a weather specialist at Pagasa, said Wednesday night's flashfloods were due to the massive volume of rainfall brought about by the 'cold front' and not by any storm system, as what had been circulating in local radio stations.
"Ma-verify man gyud nato kun naay storm system nga mu-emerge kay naa man ta'y real-time satellite-fed imagery," Guya said.
Earlier, Luz Mercado, another weather specialist of Pagasa, debunked reports circulating in local radio stations that a 'buhawi' (cloudburst) erupted in Baungon, Bukidnon.
"Kadtong balita sa buhawi kagabi-i, resulta kadto sa usa ka 'text brigade.' Advise namo sa mga tao nga dili motuo anang mga unconfirmed reports. Sa mga radio stations pud, ipa-confirm sa amo (weather specialist), dili kanang mga kapitan sa barangay, kay wala na sila'y technical knowledge about the weather," Mercado said.
For his part, Ricardo said weather disturbances can easily be identified, saying: "Tanan weather disturbances adunay signature."
"Kun buhawi (tornado) dili ma-distinguish ang direction kay patuyok ang movement sa hangin, pero kun heavy rainfall one direction lang. For example, kun adunay mga natumba nga mga kahoy or crops, isa ra ka direction ang iyang pagkatumba dili pareha sa buhawi nga manglupad ang tanan maagi-an," Ricardo said.
