El Niño can spawn strong, wild typhoons
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2019 21:14:10 +0000
EDITORIAL
AS the country struggles with soaring temperatures, water shortages and agricultural losses due to the ongoing El Niño climate phenomenon and the onset of summer, the typhoon season is likely very far from anyone’s thoughts. The current conditions, however, should remind us to take the opportunity to be prepared for what recent history suggests may be a bad storm season.
El Niño is a cyclic climate phenomenon that occurs at irregular intervals of two to five years, and can last from nine months up to two years. It is characterized by warm ocean water moving eastward across the Pacific, and its most immediate impact on our part of the world is significantly drier-than-usual weather.
Agricultural losses from the El Niño-induced drought have already exceeded P5 billion, and are certain to increase, even though weather forecasters have determined that the El Niño has peaked and will begin to dissipate in the coming months. While the drought is not solely to blame for recent water shortages affecting millions in Metro Manila and surrounding areas, it certainly aggravated existing water management problems, and is making recovery from those difficult.
Information from the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows that the current El Nino event is the seventh one to occur since the year 2000. The previous one, one of the strongest on record, lasted from 2014-2016. Others occurred in 2002-2003, 2004-2005, 2006-2007 and 2009-2010.
One effect of El Niño that is not so well known is that it corresponds to the formation of strong typhoons — the warming of the ocean surface atmosphere allows moisture-rich air to rise and develop possibly into wild rainstorms. Strong typhoons do not occur only during El Niño years, of course; some of the most horrific storms in recent years such as Typhoon Frank (2008) and Typhoon Yolanda (2013) did not. But historically, El Nino years have always produced strong typhoons. In 2003, the country was struck by no fewer than five destructive typhoons; 2004’s Typhoon Winnie killed nearly 1,600 people; Typhoon Reming (2006) added 1,400 more deaths and P5 billion in property damage; Ondoy and Pepeng (2009) did almost P50 billion in damage between them; Typhoons Juan (2010), Glenda (2014) and Lando (2015) cost P12 billion, P39 billion and P14.4 billion respectively, as well as hundreds of dead, injured, and missing people.
Given such history, it would be foolish to ignore the inevitable: In the months to come, at least some parts of the Philippines will be affected by a destructive typhoon. The time to prepare for that eventuality is now. And while government at all levels has important responsibilities for those preparations, we, as individuals and families, must also do our part to safeguard ourselves, our loved ones and our communities.
Some steps ordinary citizens can take to ensure their safety include checking the soundness of their homes, particularly roofs, windows and doors, and making necessary repairs. Inquire at your barangay or municipal offices to find out whether your home is in a hazard area, and if so, what procedures are to be followed in case of an evacuation. Discuss emergency preparedness with your family. And of course, gathering and keeping handy a supply of essentials for use in an emergency – canned and dried foods, clean drinking water, medications, extra clothing and useful items such as candles and spare batteries – now, when there is no emergency and supplies are plentiful and reasonably priced, could spell the difference between quick recovery and tragedy later on.
We cannot control what nature may throw at us, but with a little forethought, we can survive it and return to our normal lives more quickly.
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