“Contrary to some belief, PAGASA does not recognize nor use both ‘typhoon signal number 5’ and ‘super typhoon’ categories. But Yolanda [Haiyan] has redefined boundaries.”
Weather experts mull new warning systems
Tags: Pagasa
A question of poverty and vulnerability
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Bulatlat.com Learning from the impact of typhoon Ondoy, which hit the country hard two years ago, President Benigno Aquino III, upon assuming the presidency, sacked the chief of Pagasa, the country’s weather bureau, and declared a “zero casualty policy” in the government’s response to natural calamities. When relatively mild storms hit the…
Benjie Oliveros | Why disaster strikes
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Analysis When Pagasa announced, early this week, that typhoon Chedeng might hit the country, local government officials frantically inspected and dredged rivers, canals, and drainage systems. They readied rubber boats and set up an emergency communication system. President Aquino called on his administration to aim for zero casualty. The people living near…
Poor Are Worst Hit by Ondoy; Inept Leadership Makes Them Suffer Even More
By CARLOS H. CONDE
A disaster-prone country like the Philippines should by now be a nation of experts on calamities and how to deal with them. But, as Ondoy has shown, Filipinos are almost always caught unawares. And often, the high cost of these calamities are caused not so much by lack of knowledge or resources as by poor governance.
Ondoy and Climate Change
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO Bulatlat.com MANILA — According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Ondoy brought Metro Manila its highest amount of rainfall in the last 42 years. “In 1967, a typhoon brought Metro Manila 334 mm of rain in 24 hours,” said Pagasa spokesman Nathaniel Cruz in an interview with…