Pala-isip

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer . ====================== MANILA, Philippines—Presiding over his first disaster management briefing, President Benigno Aquino III Wednesday took to task the weather bureau for its failure to notify the public that Typhoon “Basyang” (international codename: Conson) would directly hit Metro Manila. Officials from various agencies reported to Mr. Aquino the extent of the typhoon’s damage and the steps taken to normalize the situation at the emergency meeting of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in Camp Aguinaldo. After listening to an update by weather bureau chief Prisco Nilo, Mr. Aquino wondered aloud why the bureau failed to update its bulletin on the typhoon’s track. The President said that contrary to the last bulletin of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Tuesday that Basyang would make land fall in Aurora, it struck the metropolis, toppling power lines and trees. Significant ...

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer . Anticipating the impact of what might be super typhoon “Pepeng,” President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared yesterday the entire country in a state of calamity to ensure that all government resources would be ready for a worst-case scenario. The declaration of a state of calamity clears local government officials to tap 5 percent of their funds for calamity purposes, and trade officials to set price ceilings on commodities, officials said. Pepeng (international code name “Parma”) slowed down at sea yesterday afternoon, prompting the Pagasa weather bureau to warn residents of Metro Manila and surrounding areas to prepare for the possibility of the typhoon changing direction and passing close to the metropolis. At a press conference, Dr. Prisco Nilo, Pagasa director, expressed concern over Pepeng’s slowdown, which, he said, was caused by a high-pressure area in Hong Kong that was blocking its northward progress. This could cause the typhoon to linger ...

Pagasa said it could raise public storm signal number 4 over Northern Luzon Friday night if Typhoon "Pepeng" continued to strengthen in its current track. According to PAGASA Director Prisco Nilo, storm signal number 4 means winds of up to 185 kilometers per hour over a region. "Its possible that we will have to raise storm signal number 4 over Northern Luzon by Friday around 11 p.m.," Nilo told reporters Thursday. Full story on the Philippine Daily Inquirer . I hope the government is prepared for this one this time.

PAGASA (11:30am): Typhoon Pepeng now a significant typhoon, slowly becoming a Super typhoon with wind speeds up to 175 kph with gustiness of about 210kph. Entering Northern Luzon by Sat morning. But expect heavy rainfall by tomorrow. Given the current status of some cities, only 1/4 of the Ondoy rain is needed to raise flood waters to dangerous levels. Prepare for flood just in case. Please repost. http://www.goes.noaa.gov/guam/guamloops/guamvs.html

From an article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. ============ In her State of the Nation Address last July 27, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said: “As a country in the path of typhoons and the Pacific Rim of Fire, we must be prepared, as the latest technology permits, to anticipate natural calamities when that is possible; to extend immediate and effective relief when it is not.” She also asserted that the mapping of flood-and landslide-prone areas is “almost complete,” citing the improvement of “early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems” and the installation of flood-control infrastructure in areas of Luzon, including the Pasig and Marikina rivers. ============ So much for the preparation. If the money for the Le Cirque dinners and the ZTE-NBN deals were used to upgrade PAGASA's radars, upgrade the drainage system and buy disaster relief supplies. This calamity would never have happened. They keep blaming that one month worth of rain fell in six hours. But in ...