Yearender: 13 typhoons in ’07

A total of 49 people were killed and over 180,000 families were affected by the onslaught of 13 tropical cyclones that hit the country this year.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) has estimated the damage to agriculture and infrastructure brought about by the weather disturbances at more than P800 million.

In 2006, strong typhoons left 1,009 fatalities, 3,129 injured and 841 missing. Damage to agriculture and infrastructure reached P22.85 billion.

Typhoons “Lando” and “Mina,” which both entered the country in November, left 45 people dead and over 170,000 families affected in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4-A, 4-B, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region), and Caraga, according to disaster officials.

However, compared to last year, 2007 was “less disastrous,” as more intense typhoons hit the country in 2006, Nathaniel Cruz, weather branch chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said.

A total of 20 tropical cyclones entered the country last year, three of which were super typhoons.

Tropical cyclones are classified according to their strength and are determined by the speed of the maximum sustained winds near the center.

A tropical depression is an organized system of clouds and thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 35 to 63 kilometers per hour (kph).

Tropical depression has no eye and does not typically have the organization or the spiral shape of more powerful storms.

A tropical storm, on the other hand, is an organized system of strong thunderstorms with a defined surface circulation and maximum sustained winds of 64 to 117 kph. At this point, the distinctive cyclonic shape starts to develop, although an eye is not usually present.

A Typhoon has maximum sustained winds of more than 117 kph. A cyclone of this intensity tends to develop an eye, an area of relative calm at the center of circulation.

The cyclone is classified as a super typhoon if it reaches maximum sustained winds of 215 kph.

Cruz said it was “abnormal” that lesser typhoons visited the country this year, since an average of 19 to 20 tropical cyclones usually enter the Philippine area of responsibility every year.

In 1993, the Philippines was battered by 33 typhoons and only 12 in 1997.

Three super typhoons roared in one after the other in September, October and November last year, triggering landslides.

In November 2006, super typhoon “Reming” brought heavy rains in Bicol, causing volcanic debris from Mount Mayon to cascade down its slopes, burying villages in Guinobatan, Albay and leaving over a thousand dead.

Another super typhoon was forecast to hit the Bicol region last November, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people. The government spent millions of pesos for the pre-emptive evacuation in the region.

But what was feared to be super Typhoon “Mina” changed course and veered toward the provinces of Aurora and Quezon, sparing Bicol from another monstrous disaster.

The weather bureau, meanwhile, has faced criticism for its lack of warning to residents in northern Luzon who were affected by Mina.

Dry spell hits Luzon

On May 31, the weather bureau declared the onset of the rainy season in the western section of the country with the entry of the first typhoon of the year, “Amang.”

Amang, however, did not directly affect any part of the country.

Some parts of Luzon received below normal rainfall in June and July despite the entry of another typhoon, “Bebeng.”

The government declared a dry spell in Regions 1 (Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon), CAR and Metro Manila, and was forced to spend millions of pesos for cloud seeding operations.

In August, Typhoons “Chedeng” and “Dodong” intensified the southwest monsoon (habagat), bringing more rains that somewhat eased the dry spell in affected areas, except in Region 2.

Although super Typhoon “Egay” did not directly hit any part of the country, it brought more rains to Luzon and Visayas in August.

In September, Typhoons “Falcon,” “Goring,” and “Hanna” likewise intensified monsoon rains, causing severe flooding in Luzon and Visayas.

Hanna, the first typhoon to make landfall this year, left one person dead in Ifugao province.

Typhoons “Ineng” and “Juaning” entered Philippine territory in October but did not affect any part of the country.

Typhoon “Kabayan” entered the country in November, leaving six people dead in northern Luzon and caused severe flooding in some areas.

La Niña phenomenon

In September, the weather bureau warned of wetter than normal conditions in Visayas and some areas of Luzon, including Metro Manila, in the last quarter of the year due to prevailing La Niña phenomenon in the country.

The weather phenomenon was predicted to bring above normal rainfall to the country until early next year.

La Niña refers to abnormal cooling of sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific and is characterized by excessive rainfall.

The country experienced a weak El Niño mid-last year until the early part of 2007.

El Niño phenomenon is associated with the unusual warming in the equatorial Pacific and usually brings below normal rainfall.

Rosalina de Guzman, Pagasa supervising weather specialist, earlier said the normal cycle of an El Niño phenomenon is from two to seven years. However, it was observed that the weather phenomenon had become more frequent in the last 10 years, and was succeeded by a La Niña phenomenon.

These include the 1997 to 1998 El Niño, which was followed by the 1998 to 1999 La Niña; the 2000 to 2001 La Niña which was followed by the 2002 to 2003 El Niño phenomenon; 2004 to 2005 El Niño; 2006 to 2007 La Niña, followed by 2006 to 2007 El Niño, and the 2007 La Niña phenomenon.

Restive volcanoes

In 2007, only one of the country’s four active volcanoes became restive, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Aside from Mount  Bulusan in Sorsogon, three other volcanoes displayed unrest in 2006 – Taal volcano in Batangas, Mount Kanlaon in Negros and Mount Mayon in Albay.

“Mount Bulusan was the only one with actual explosions in 2007,” Dr. Renato Solidum, Phivolcs director, said.

However, Alert Level 1 remains in effect over Mount Mayon, Taal volcano and Bulusan, he said. Villagers are barred from venturing into the four-kilometer permanent danger zone.

Last October, mudflows from Bulusan volcano, triggered by heavy rains, forced the evacuation of 1,596 people from Irosin, Sorsogon.

The 1,559-meter high Bulusan has been spewing ash and steam since March 2006.