Pagasa: Brace for more intense typhoons this year due to La Nina

MANILA, Philippines – Government meteorologists advised today the public to brace for more intense typhoons this year due to the La Nina phenomenon.

“It is possible we will have extreme weather. But since we are in the midst of La Niña, we can expect typhoons to be more intense,” Science Undersecretary Graciano Yumul said in an interview.

Yumul, also the officer-in-charge of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said they expect more storms this year than last year.

“We really expect the frequency of the storms to be higher this year and they might have an increase in intensity,” Yumul said.

A total of 11 cyclones entered the country in 2010, lower than the historical average of 20 per year.

Yumul also warned that more areas in the country will experience La Nina rains in the first quarter of 2011 which may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

“The months of January, February and March would be extremely wet,” said Yumul.

La Nina, which started in July last year, refers to the abnormal cooling of sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific and is characterized by too much rainfall.

Pagasa weather branch chief Robert Sawi earlier said the La Nina event and the active easterly wind had prevented the formation of typhoons in the country last year.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said as of yesterday morning, a total of 18 people have died due to landslides and flooding that hit several areas around the country.

The NDRRMC also said some 85, 795 families were affected in 19 provinces in Regions IV-B, V, VII, X, XI, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Caraga region. (report from Helen Flores, Philstar.com)