ILOILO City — The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) in Iloilo is urging the public to remain vigilant and closely monitor advisories, particularly weather forecasts, as the “ber months” begin, traditionally a rainy season.
PAGASA forecasts that between September 2024 and February 2025, six to 13 tropical cyclones may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).
For September 2024 alone, PAGASA anticipates that two or three typhoons might enter the PAR, said Jeff Maquiling, PAGASA-Iloilo weather forecaster.
When asked about the potential strength of these typhoons, Maquiling said predicting their intensity would be difficult without sufficient satellite imagery to assess cloud accumulation and potential rainfall.
However, Maquiling did not discount the possibility of strong typhoons affecting the country, citing historical occurrences such as Typhoon Paeng in 2022 and Typhoon Yolanda in November 2013, both of which caused significant damage to life and livelihoods in the region.
“There is a possibility that we might experience strong storms here, and that’s when we’ll know their category — whether they will be tropical depressions, storms, or super typhoons,” Maquiling added.
Due to this forecast, Maquiling recommends that the public regularly check PAGASA’s social media pages and stay informed through media updates to take necessary precautions.
This warning was validated when PAGASA announced at 8 a.m. on Sunday, September 1, that a low-pressure area east of Eastern Visayas had developed into a tropical depression named Enteng.
This system is expected to bring cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rains and thunderstorms over Masbate, Sorsogon, Northern Samar, Samar, Eastern Samar, and Biliran, as well as the Caraga, Davao Region, Northern Mindanao, Quezon, and the rest of Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, and Bicol Region.
Meanwhile, the southwest monsoon or habagat continues to affect the western part of Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, bringing scattered rains, according to PAGASA weather specialist Grace Castañeda. Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon may see partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to localized thunderstorms.
In anticipation of the La Niña phenomenon, which could exacerbate flooding, Raul Fernandez, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), assured that Western Visayas is prepared.
Fernandez has been actively assessing the readiness of local government units (LGUs) in recent months.
“We are prepared. Over the past few months, we have visited various LGUs to check their preparedness, and they are well-prepared,” said Fernandez.
He highlighted that LGUs are equipped with human resources, search and rescue operations, and rescue equipment.
Some LGUs have also pre-positioned family food packs in strategic areas to facilitate access during floods.
The OCD-6 has pre-positioned welfare goods at strategic locations in the region for use in case of calamity, with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ready to augment forces for search and rescue operations if necessary./PN
