Wednesday, November 21, 2007 Barrita: Storm By Eddie O. Barrita Small Bites
TROPICAL storm Lando on Monday caught most Cebuanos and the weather bureau by surprise.
You see, Lando blew into town even before Cebu City Councilor Jack Jakosalem can spell out Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa).
Did you ever wonder why they call our weather bureau Pag-asa?
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Jack Jakosalem has criticized the lack of advice from Pag-asa, calling it “a total failure in weather forecasting.”
Well, my dear councilor, some storms simply won’t respect Pag-asa’s weather forecasts anymore.
We can only hope storms follow Pag-asa’s forecast the next time around.
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Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña said they were not caught off-guard by storm Lando.
People in possible landslide areas were alerted, he said.
See, Mayor Tommy is no stranger to storms.
Just ask him about super typhoon Ruping.
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Cebu City, it appears, was at the center of storm Lando where gusts went up to 100 kilometers per hour.
But for its total failure in weather forecasting, Pag-asa will soon find itself in the eye of the storm.
Will wind speeds be enough to uproot trees or topple billboards?
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Pag-asa Mactan Chief Oscar Tabada said Pag-asa is not 100 percent accurate because winds often change after hitting land.
Some storms even hit land before their schedule.
Yes, Pag-asa “is only a warning agency.”
Be so warned.
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It’s high time that we modernize Pag-asa’s facilities for it to give us more accurate weather forecasts.
Every time a storm warning goes awry, such as when a typhoon fails to come our way in an apparent attempt to shame our weathermen, people blame Pag-asa.
Why not blame officials who fail to upgrade Pag-asa’s facilities instead?
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It would also help if people living in areas considered dangerous for flooding and landslides would cooperate and move to safer grounds at the first sign of a storm.
