Storm in Eastern and Northern Samar coasts nothing new, PAGASA explains

The storm surges that overwhelmed the coastal areas of Eastern Samar actually happen often in the area, PAGASA assistant weather services chief Charmie Monteverde said in a press conference, Thursday.

 

The coasts of Northern Samar and Eastern Samar facing the Pacific Ocean are prone to storm surges of more than four meters high, according to the PAGASA's record of Historical Storm Surge Occurrences in the Philippines from 1897 to 2011.

 

Occurrences of four-meter to 12-meter storm surges were also recorded.

 

Not a new phenomenon

 

In 1984, storm surges of more than three meters high associated with Typhoon Undang (Agnes) engulfed the coasts of Basey, Samar, an area close to the Yolanda-ravaged Tacloban City. This happened also in the month of November.

 

Undang's winds of up to 230 kph damaged 15.4 billion pesos worth of property, killed 895, and injured 2,525.

 

In 1988, a storm surge associated with Typhoon Yoning swept several houses from the an Eastern Samar coastal village.

 

The storm surges that Yolanda produced were forecast to be more than five meters high.

 

However, Monteverde warned that it is difficult to compare the damages brought by strong typhoons before and in the present. The population in the affected areas have increased.

 

“Kung i-compare mo sa nakaraan, although naexperience natin yung same magnitude, mas kaunti yung naapektuhan noon kaysa ngayon kasi mas kaunti yung tao noon kaysa noon,” she said.

 

Yolanda's 600 km scope magnified its extent of damage even more. Its maximum wind speed was 235 kph and its gustiness was up to 275 kph.

 

Typhoon Reming in 2006 had maximum wind speeds of up to 285 kph. Its gustiness reached up to 320 kph.

 

“In terms of maximum gustiness of tropical cyclones, yung Typhoon Reming ang pinakamalakas."

 

Reming, Monteverde noted, was stronger than Yolanda. But Yolanda was considerably larger since it covered the entire Visayan region.

 

“Halos nacover niya yung Mindanao hanggang Luzon. Kaya ang (scope ng) maximum winds niya ay na-spread,” she said.

 

Tacloban: a special case

 

Monteverde acknowledged that the storm surges in Tacloban City might have been more powerful compared to other parts of Eastern Samar's coasts.

 

“Ang Tacloban, parang bay. Enclosed siya. Pagtama ng surge, naiipon yung energy doon kaya mas mataas ang wave,” she said.

 

Call for review of systems

 

State weather forecasters have warned of the storm surges that may come during the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

 

PAGASA issued warnings for storm surges of up to seven meters high in areas where Public Storm Warning Signals Numbers 2, 3, and 4 were raised. But it seems that whatever preparation done was not enough to avoid Yolanda's damages.

 

“Because of the strength of the wind, plus the impact of the storm surge, talagang siguro kahit gaano kahanda ang community, because of the big waves, talagang masisira at masisira (ang area),” Monteverde said.

 

“At saka talagang, napakalaki ng circulation ng bagyo that it covered the entire Eastern Samar and Northern Samar and the eastern seaboard of the Visayan region. Kaya kahit ano sigurong preparation, (yung) ganoon kalaking bagyo, talagang mahirap kahit magprepare ka, ganoon pa rin ang mangyayari.”

 

Lead Convenor of the Disaster Risk Reduction Network Philipppines (DRRNetPhils) Adelina Sevilla Alvarez said that Typhoon Yolanda is a wake up call to people working in the field of disaster risk reduction.

 

“Akala namin very successful na tayo sa ating preparedness. Maybe its is the time to look back and find out (kung pwede) bang magdagdag (ng efforts),” Alvarez said. — TJD, GMA News