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THE dry
spell has ended in most of
Luzon, bringing hope of good harvest this cropping season, but the
weather office said the last quarter could be very wet,
indicating it could also bring its own problems.
“The
emerging forecast of Pagasa is that the last quarter
would be really wet, so we will have to keep a close
watch over flooding, typhoons and landslides. But we
should also not rule out the possibility that the dry
spell may prevail,” said Pagasa acting director Graciano
Yumul Jr.
Right
now, drought has been avoided in the Metro Manila area
so that water may not be rationed after all, and also in
the Ilocos, Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions.
But
Yumul said Tuesday the
Cagayan Valley
remains under a dry spell because the Cordillera
mountain range had “blocked” the rains of tropical
storms Chedeng and Dodong, which was why the Magat, San
Roque and Pantabangan dams managed to retain safe water
levels.
Pagasa,
or the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and
Astronomical Administration, quoted reports of the
science department in reporting the good news.
Yumul
also said “the agreement [of members of the National
Disaster Coordinating Council, that met Tuesday also]
was if the water level is still below normal by the end
of August, then on September 1, we will declare a
drought. But considering that all indicators are okay,
and the only places we are closely watching are the
Cagayan Valley and Bicol, there is no longer a dry
spell.”
He said
that a drought could be declared in the Cagayan Valley
region if it fails to get enough rainfall by the end of
the month, which would then mark three consecutive
months of a dry spell in the area.
He
recommended continued cloudseeding operations in the
affected regions during the NDCC meeting.
Yumul
said they see the wet-weather phenomenon La Niña
commencing in the last quarter. |
