Limlingan: Habagat

FOR several days now, rains have been pouring continuously that some areas in the province are feeling the wrath of incessant downpours. While we are now officially on the rainy season, we have not experienced yet any strong typhoon that might have flooded more areas than the monsoon rains we are having since recently.

It is the season of the Southwest Monsoon or the Habagat that is prevailing. The rain it brings is sometimes aggravated by the presence of low pressure areas coming from the eastern side of the country or the Pacific.

I may sound like a weather forecaster but my weather observations are only anchored on my year-after-year experiences of the natural occurrences affecting our weather system in the country. Rains for the past days are but natural and so the damage it make to our province.

According to the Provincial Disaster Risk-Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) of Pampanga, the province has already suffered some damage amounting to almost P10M in rice crops from Apalit, Candaba and Magalang towns. These agricultural towns suffered the most in their rice lands due to unceasing rains.

The PDRRMC has likewise reported that there are 14 barangays in the province that are flooded. These are situated in low-lying portions of some towns particularly those coastal barangays.

Fortunately, there are no report yet of any river swelling due to the rise of water or dike breached due to heavy rains. When we experience continuous rains, it is often followed by floods. In response to these, the PDRRMC and local disaster risk-reduction councils are placed on alert while monitoring areas which might be subjected to flooding.

Pampanga is resilient to these kind of situations. We have had much of learning in disaster management and how to we go about to mitigate the effects of any natural disaster. Proudly, we have local officials in the province who are quick to response in the trying times of the rainy season. No wonder why our disaster-management councils have been receiving awards from national government agencies.

Kapampangans meanwhile are “weatherproof”, that we can easily cope up with floods and that the rainy season may even mean a blessing.

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The twister in Magalang town is so horrifying that many residents of the affected barangays of the said town braced themselves from any untoward incident. The Magalang Institute was not spared though from the tornado causing injuries to some students and leaving the school buildings roofless. Videos and photos of the tornado went viral on the internet as some of the brave kept shooting the sky with their mobile phones. G.I. roofs and other debris were seen hovering the sky.

Aside from rains, floods and earthquakes, perhaps we can start learning what to do in case of the presence of twisters. Since they are rare, we have to admit that we do not know much about them, their behavior and the things needed to be done in case they attack.

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For any comments, ideas, suggestions or opinions, text or call The Advocate at 0921-3636360 or send email at dencious@gmail.com

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