Back-to-Back Hurricanes and Super Typhoonsby Bam Azores | 18-09-2017 19:41 |
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 While everyone was glued to Hurricane Irma as it wreaked havoc on Florida, Puerto Rico and the Carribean Islands, few people outside of the Philippines noticed that the small country was being hit by twin Typhoons Lanie and Maring at almost the same time. So what was the effect of the twin typhoons on the country? There were several deaths and missing persons reported mostly from the Southern Tagalog region where the second typhoon made landfall. The typhoon actually intensified just before landfall and had maximum winds of 60 km/h and gusts of up to 80 km/h. Although it doesn't seem strong, it brought with it heavy rains which led to the suspension of classes on all levels in cities and provinces around Metro Manila, Central and Southen Luzon. Government offices also decided to suspend work because people would have difficulty commuting due to the major flooding. According to reports by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, nearly 2000 families evacuated to designated centers. The government, through its Department of Social Welfare and Development conducted relief operations for the victims. Way back in 2013, a Time magazine reported that the Philippines is "the most exposed country in the world to tropical storms". This is not actually a good way to be remembered, but living here in the country makes me tend to agree. It somehow seems that specially in the rainy season, we are constantly hit by typhoons coming in different directions. On the average about eight to nine tropcial cyclones make landfall in the Philippines out of about twenty that enter the Philippines. We are definitely a country that is vulnerable to extreme weather patterns that Climate Change is obviously bringing about. Actually, the last ten strongest typhoons (maybe we should call them super typhoons) in the Philippines hit us in the last decade. Most recent was Typhoon Haiyan also known as Typhoon Yolanda. Typhoons are getting stronger and it really is a result of the effects of Climate Change. We need to do our part to mitigate these effects of Climate Change that exacerbate the threats and consequences on countries like the Philippines. |
