Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Weather bureau alerts public on onset of rainy season
By Maricar Aranas
WITH the end of El Niño and the start of the rainy season, the weather bureau - Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) warned the public that at least two major tropical cyclones are expected to hit the country this year.
The typhoons are only two of the 21 typhoons expected to hit the country by year's end.
Provincial meteorological chief Edsin Culi said Pagasa's seasonal climatological outlook from April to June indicates the start of the rainy season.
This is associated with the southwest monsoon season, locally known as "habagat", which brings heavy rains and could trigger landslides and floods.
Culi said rainfall conditions during the period would be near normal to above normal in many parts of the country.
Negros Island, he said, is among the list of areas that would experience less than 300 millimeters of rainfall.
The others are Cagayan, some areas in Central Luzon, Palawan, and the southern portions of Panay, Negros, and Zamboanga.
Areas that would experience more than 600 mm of rainfall are the mountainous areas of Luzon, Quezon provinces, Camarines provinces, Albay, Samar, the Caraga region, and Compostella valley.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared the third week of June "Typhoon and Flood Awareness Week" and directed the weather bureau to lead the awareness information campaign on disaster preparedness.
Meanwhile, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has warned residents near Mt. Kanlaon to stay away from the permanent four-kilometer danger zone within the volcano's perimeter because of an impending hydrothermal explosion.
(June 18, 2006 issue)
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