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AFTER
the severe destruction brought by Typhoon Frank, the
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration (Pagasa) Thursday announced it
would soon come out with hourly weather bulletins.
In a
media briefing Thursday, Pag-asa director Prisco Nilo
said the move would fill in the gaps of the present
forecast and dissemination of meteorological conditions
that take place every after six hours.
Nilo did
not elaborate when the move will begin.
Science
Secretary Estrella Alabastro has prodded Pagasa for such
an initiative so that the local government units can
prepare for weather-related emergencies.
“We have
to give out [weather] bulletins to the media as needed,”
said Alabastro, who was present at the same briefing.
Philippine Science Journalists Association Inc. (PSciJourn)
supports Pagasa’s move, saying it will ask AM and FM
radio stations to do the hour-to-hour weather reports.
“Radio
stations must intensify their direct participation in
telling the public about, say, a typhoon that has been
hoisted to Signal No. 3 already,” said Angelo Palmones,
PSciJourn president.
Also at
the same briefing, Pagasa weather branch chief Nathaniel
Cruz disputed the earlier claims of Rep. Roilo Golez,
who blamed the agency for its poor weather-forecasting
capability due to its wornout and outdated facilities.
“What
will happen to the country without Pagasa? Our
forecasters had worked really hard during those rigorous
times just to get across to the people the outlook of
the weather. And, that’s what we can hear,” said Cruz.
Nilo,
however, conceded that the five radars Pagasa uses in
weather forecasting are insufficient. By 2010, Alabastro
said additional radars will be put in place. Pagasa
needs seven more radars, the Pagasa director said.
At the
same time, Cruz assured the public that there would be
no development of tropical cyclone and low-pressure
areas in the coming days. The sky will be clear,
excluding some parts of Mindanao, he added.
“The
weather situation will be good for the retrieval of
fatalities of the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars,”
he said.
The
ship, owned by Sulpicio Lines, capsized off the coast of
Sibuyan Island in Romblon due to strong waves at the
height of Typhoon Frank.
Cruz
warned the people that strong winds, flood, heavy
rainfall, landslide, storm surge and tornado are the
hazards associated with typhoons—which were apparent
during the “most remembered typhoons the country had
experienced.”
From
1948 to 2005, the weather bureau chief noted that there
were seven unforgettable typhoons that crossed or passed
near Metro Manila.
Among
them were Typhoon Yoling, which hit the country in
November 1970, and Typhoon Rosing in October 1995. These
were the kinds of typhoons that intensified rapidly and
caused a huge number of deaths, Cruz said.
Pagasa
lauded its local unit in Dumangas in Iloilo for its
“preparedness” in reporting weather Typhoon Frank
forecasts, giving people time to get their food and
water supplies ready. Despite that preparedness, Iloilo
experienced the “worst disaster in history,” killing
people in landslides and flash floods. |
