Philippines | NASA eyes power in TS Washi
NASA’s TRMM satellite measured heavy rainfall and powerful towering thunderstorms as Tropical Depression 27W intensified into Tropical Storm Washi today. Now, warnings are up in areas of the Philippines as Washi heads in that direction.
Now that Tropical Depression 27W strengthened into a tropical storm, it has been given two names: Washi and Sendong. Tropical cyclones within each ocean basin are named in six year lists, but some countries will also assign their own names to a storm, so following a storm can get a little confusing. Low pressure areas that form into a depression are given a number and Washi’s was 27W, for the twenty-seventh tropical depression in the western North Pacific this season. Once it strengthens into a tropical storm it gets a name.
Tropical Storm Washi, or Sendong as it is known in the Philippines has residents there on guard as it continues to strengthen upon its approach.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Weather Forecasting Section, Weather Division is responsible for forecasts of tropical cyclones affecting the Philippines. PAGASA noted in a bulletin today, December 15 at 5 p.m. local time (0900 UTC or 4 a.m. EST): “Tropical Storm 27W (called “Sendong” in the Philippines) is expected to make landfall over Surigao del Sur early tomorrow (Friday) afternoon and by Saturday afternoon, at 220 km East Northeast of Puerto Princesa City. By Sunday afternoon, it will be at 260 km West Northwest of Puerto Princesa City.”
As a result of Washi’s (Sendong) approach, PAGASA has posted warning signals. Signal One is in effect for Mindanao and Visayas. Mindanao is the second largest and easternmost island of the Philippines. It is one of the three island groups in the country, the others being Luzon and the Visayas.
Included in the warning in Mindanao is the province of Surigao Del Norte including Siargao Island, Surigao Del, Sur and Dinagat Province, Agusan Provinces and Misamis Oriental. Included in the warning in Visayas are the provinces of Eastern Samar and Western Samar, Leyte Provinces, Camotes Island, and Bohol. Heavy rains and gusty winds are expected. Rainfall may cause flooding and mudslides.
On Dec. 15 at 0900 UTC, Tropical Storm Washi had maximum sustained winds near 35 knots (40 mph/65 kmh). It was about 140 nautical miles (161 miles/259 km) west of Palau near 7.7 North and 131.5 East. It was moving quickly to the west at 20 knots (23 mph/37 kmh).
When the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed over Washi early today, Dec. 15 at 0205 UTC (Dec. 14 at 9:05 a.m. EST) a “hot towering” thunderstorm was seen in the southwestern quadrant of the storm topping 10 miles (16 kilometers) high. Research done at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. has shown that tropical cyclones are likely to intensify within six hours of a “hot tower” being spotted in a tropical cyclone.
Multispectral satellite imagery showed the banding of thunderstorms wrapping into the center of circulation – another indication that the storm is strengthening. The storm is strengthening because the wind shear is light (only 10 knots/11 mph/18 kmh) and the sea surface temperatures are very warm at about 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 Celsius) which is about 8F warmer than the minimum temperature needed to maintain a tropical cyclone.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center expects Washi to make landfall on Friday, Dec. 16 and then re-emerge over water in the Sulu Sea. In the meantime, residents of Minandao and Visayas need to prepare for Washi’s arrival.
Philippines – Residents resist calls to relocate
Calumpit – IRIN –The government of the Philippines is fighting a losing battle with residents living in flood-prone areas as they refuse to relocate.
In October, following Typhoon Nalgae, former army general Benito Ramos, the Philippines’ top civil defence official, went from one submerged house to another in the town of Calumpit, north of the capital Manila, appealing to those stuck on their rooftops to evacuate to safer areas, only to be rebuffed and told to return with food items.
“It is very frustrating. You go out to those areas trying to save lives and end up arguing with these people,” Ramos told IRIN.
Similar scenarios played out across the area as rescuers in rubber boats and helicopters struggled to convince thousands of families in low-lying areas to flee, complicating an already difficult emergency situation and stretching the government’s limited resources.
“There are times I want to physically remove them or handcuff them just so they will be saved, but what can I do? They will accuse me of violating their human rights…The dilemma for me, however, is that the government will be held accountable for whatever may happen to them in times of disasters.”
“Not budging”
Residents told him they wanted to protect their properties from looters. Others argued that as floods and heavy storms were common in the Philippines – the country gets battered by up to 20 typhoons a year, some of them deadly – they were well equipped to cope.
“But what often happens is that there are a lot of casualties, people panic and get flat-footed when the waters quickly rise,” Ramos said.
On 27 September, Typhoon Nesat hit, with a massive rain band that covered most of Luzon island, affecting about 35 provinces, many of them in the country’s fertile, but low-lying central rice-growing plains; in some places reaching rooftops.
Five days later, Typhoon Nalgae struck, cutting a similar destructive path, compounding its impact.
According to the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the death toll from both typhoons was more than 100, while the number of people affected was over four million.
Of those, some 727,000 people required assistance, including more than 61,000 in 138 evacuation centres in Luzon.
For weeks, floods from the back-to-back typhoons submerged vast tracts of farmland and riverside communities before subsiding, but many residents said they would rebuild in the same place, despite warnings to relocate.
“Sometimes it boggles the mind why they would want to build there. But because their families have lived in these communities for generations, it is difficult to move them away,” Ramos said, noting that in one township in Pampanga province, he saw a sports gymnasium standing just a few metres from a river that frequently overflows its banks during storm season.
“And this is the same gymnasium that people use as an evacuation centre.”
Disaster aid
After the disaster, President Benigno Aquino ordered the release of US$1.6 billion in funds between now and the end of the year, a huge part slated for local government units to improve infrastructure against natural disasters and relocate informal settlers and those living in danger zones.
James de Jesus, the mayor of Calumpit, said local emergency staff had repeatedly warned residents in the typhoon’s path to seek shelter elsewhere, but the appeals went unheeded.
Forcibly evacuating them was next to impossible, he said.
“There were just too many them. It would have been an impossible task,” he said. “The next thing you knew, many were stranded on rooftops, and the next best thing was to drop food and other basic items for them.”
A typical case was Jocy Barletta, in her late 60s, who said she and her family did not see the need to evacuate because they thought the water would quickly subside.
“But we were wrong. The water was so high and it submerged even the town proper,” she said. “We were just worried about our belongings. And besides, where will we go? We can’t stay in an overcrowded evacuation centre.
“The next time, maybe we will be more prepared,” she said. “We didn’t think the floods would be like Ondoy.”
Tropical storm Ondoy, or Ketsana, ravaged the Philippine capital and nearby suburban areas in late 2009, bringing massive floods and misery.
It was closely followed by Typhoon Parma, and both weather disturbances left millions affected and about 1,000 people dead, with the total cost of recovery and reconstruction estimated at more than $4.4 billion, according to the World Bank.