THE public must brace for stronger cyclones before the year ends.
The warning posed by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) isn’t one to be taken lightly.
Pagasa Deputy Administrator Landrico Dalida said extreme warming in the Pacific Ocean could rouse severe precipitation that might haul mad volumes of rain on our shores. Such as what happened a decade ago with Tropical Storm Ondoy (international name Ketsana), which damaged around P11 billion in infrastructure and agriculture, striking likewise the breadbasket of Metro Manila.
In 2013, Super Typhoon Yolanda swept across the region, walloping Cebu mostly in the north. It was an election year, some officials were hardly hot in their seats yet, although Camotes Islands’ towns emerged to set good examples with their purok system as defense in time of disasters. When the storm left, it marked zero-casualty on record.
Cebu Provincial Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, Cebu City Mayor Edgar Labella, and a host of other officials find themselves back in office again amid Pagasa’s warning about an onslaught of stronger cyclones in the second half of this year.
A SunStar special report in 2018 said at least 30 barangays and 16 towns and cities in Cebu are vulnerable to storm surges, while 260 barangays in 27 towns are exposed to landslide risks.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 identified 31 barangays in nine towns in Cebu as susceptible or highly prone to storm surges. The towns are Alegria, Balamban, Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Ginatilan, Madridejos, Malabuyoc, Samboan and Santa Fe.
On the other hand, Pagasa-Mactan said the cities of Cebu, Talisay, Danao and Bogo, and the towns of Carmen, Catmon and Medellin have recorded storm surges since 1987 to 2011.
In the past years, the MGB 7 had given the local government units copies of a comprehensive hazard map for guidance and for the latter to spread the word to their constituents.
Last year, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said it has a more comprehensive, real time and reliable system and early warning device that can relay distress calls to their local government unit counterparts. It also proposed a P200-million budget for this year, giving priority to disaster prevention and mitigation with the highest allocation of P96 million.
With fresh mandate, our leaders might as well have a thorough accounting of all disaster preparedness facilities at their disposal.
Between July and August, the Pagasa anticipates around four to five cyclones at least. There will be more towards the end of the year, and in all likelihood, will dump portentous volumes of water.