While generally fair weather prevails in Metro Manila, rain continues to pour in other parts of the country due to various weather systems.

Today, the Tail-End of a Cold Front affects the eastern section of Northern and Central Luzon, bringing brings rain showers and thunderstorms. Meanwhile the Intertropical Convergence Zone brings rain showers and thunderstorms in Visayas and Mindanao. The Northeast Monsoon or Hanging Amihan continues to affect the rest of Extreme Northern Luzon, causing isolated light rains.

Cagayan Valley, Bicol Region, Aurora, Quezon, Palawan, Visayas and Mindanao will have cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. In Metro Manila and the rest of Northern and Central Luzon, partly cloudy to cloudy skies will prevail with isolated light rains. In the rest of Luzon, partly cloudy to cloudy skies will be experienced with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Gale warning has been lifted due to the weakened winds associated with the Northeast Monsoon. However, fishing boats and other small seacraft are alerted against moderate to rough seas in the northern seaboard of Northern Luzon, which covers Batanes, Calayan, Babuyan, and the northern coasts of Cagayan and Ilocos Norte.

The country remains storm-free but heavy rains have caused massive floods in various areas in Cagayan.

This is caused by Tail-end of a Cold Front – an extension of a weather system that forms when the cold air mass dominates the warm air mass, causing interaction and rains.

Due to the inclement weather, evacuation has been ordered, classes have been suspended and flights have been cancelled today. Here are some images of the floods in Luzon:

Photos from Cagayan Provincial Information Office.

The prevalence of various weather systems has prompted cancellation of domestic flights and classes in some areas in Luzon today.

According to PAGASA, the Tail-end of a Cold Front affects the eastern section of Northern and of Central Luzon, bringing cloudy skies with scattered rains. Meanwhile the Easterlies bring scattered rains in the eastern section of Southern Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Northeast Monsoon or Hanging Amihan continues to affect the rest of Northern Luzon, causing a slight breeze.

Cagayan Valley, the Bicol Region, Aurora, Quezon, Eastern Visayas, Caraga and Davao Region will experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. In the rest of the country including Metro Manila, partly cloudy to cloudy skies will prevail only with isolated rain showers.

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Gale warning is also in effect in the northern seaboards of Northern Luzon where rough to very rough sea condition is expected. Fishing boats and other small seacraft are advised not to venture out, while larger vessels are alerted against big waves.

In 2004, one of the deadliest tsunamis in world history hit the Indian Ocean.

It was a Sunday morning, right after Christmas Day, when a magnitude 9.1 underwater earthquake jolted the Sumatra Coast of Indonesia. The quake spawned tsunamis as high as 30 meters that swept through the shores of countries around the Indian Ocean, such as India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The huge waves killed over 200,000 people.

This devastating event proves that tsunamis must not be taken lightly. To create awareness about their risks and preventive measures, the United Nations declared November 5 as World Tsunami Awareness Day.

WHAT IS A TSUNAMI?
Tsunami is a Japanese word from “tsu” which means harbor and “nami” which translates to wave. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), a tsunami is a series of waves commonly generated by under-the-sea earthquakes, whose heights can be greater than 5 meters or 16.4 feet.

Tsunamis may occur when an earthquake is shallow-seated and strong enough to displace parts of the seabed and disturb the mass of water over it. They are erroneously called tidal waves and sometimes mistakenly associated with storm surges. Natural signs of approaching tsunami include: a felt earthquake, an unusual sea level change (sudden sea water retreat or rise), and a rumbling sound of approaching waves.

WARNING SIGNALS
In the Philippines, the 2004 Asian Tsunami greatly impacted the development of early warning signals in coastal communities. In 2012, the Cost-Effective Local Tsunami Early Warning System for Selected High-Risk Coastal Communities of the Philippines was first established in Albay and Pangasinan. The technology is basically made up of a platform with a 15-meter high pole. Two types of sensors are attached to this pole: one that notes the rise and fall of the sea level, and the PHIVOLCS-designed wet and dry sensors. The wet sensor detects post-earthquake receding water which may signal an impending tsunami, while the latter determines if water has already hit the pole.

Information generated by the system reaches local government units (LGU) in near real-time. In cases when an earthquake is strong enough to cause a tsunami, the LGU can sound off the warning siren to warn those living in coastal areas and give them enough time to prepare and flee their homes.

Apart from locally generated tsunamis, distant or far field tsunamis are also being monitored. This happens when an underwater earthquake occurs outside the Philippines or in the Pacific Ocean. Depending on the location, a distant tsunami has a longer lead time as compared to locally generated ones which can only take 2 to 20 minutes before the waves reach the shores of affected areas.

MOST-PRONE AREAS
The Philippines is located within the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area in the Pacific border where seismic activities occur, and is also surrounded by bodies of water. This makes us prone to tsunamis.

In December 2007, the Tsunami Hazard Maps were produced under the Department of Science and Technology- Grant-In-Aid Program (DOST-GIA) identifying the following areas that are most vulnerable to tsunamis:

LUZON
Region I- Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan
Region II- Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela
Region III – Aurora, Bataan, Zambales
Region IV-A – Batangas, Cavite, Quezon
Region IV-B – Mindoro Island, Palawan
Region V – Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Sorsogon

VISAYAS
Region VI – Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, Iloilo, Negros Occidental
Region VII – Bohol, Negros Oriental, Siquijor
Region VIII – Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Leyte Island

MINDANAO
Region IX – Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay
Region X – Camiguin, Lanao del Norte
Region XI – Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental
Region XII – Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat
Region XIII – Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur
ARMM – Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi

SAFETY MEASURES
Because tsunamis can occur anytime of the day, international humanitarian organization Red Cross laid out safety measures before, during and after a tsunami.

Before
– Discuss with your family what to do during a tsunami. This helps reduce fear, particularly among younger children.
– Check your workplace and your children’s schools and daycare centers to learn if they are in a tsunami hazard area or inundation zone. Learn about their evacuation plans, especially the designated spots where you can pick up your children.
– Plan evacuation routes from your home, school, workplace and other places you could be where tsunamis present a risk.
– If possible, try to pick evacuation areas 100 feet above sea level or 2 miles inland.
– If you cannot get that high or far, go as high or far as you can. You should be able to reach the highest ground possible on foot within 15 minutes.
– Practice your evacuation routes. Familiarity may save your life. Be able to follow your escape route at night and during inclement weather.

During
– Drop, cover, and hold on to protect yourself from the earthquake.
– When the shaking stops, gather members of your household and review your evacuation plan. A tsunami may be coming within minutes.
– Follow instructions issued by local authorities. Recommended evacuation routes may be different from the one you planned, or you may be advised to climb higher.
– Use a battery-powered radio to get updated emergency information.
– If you hear an official tsunami warning or detect signs of a tsunami, evacuate at once. A tsunami warning is issued when authorities are certain that a tsunami threat exists, and there may be little time to get out.
– Take your emergency preparedness kit. Having supplies will make you more comfortable during the evacuation.
– If you evacuate, take your animals with you. If it is not safe for you, it is not safe for them.
– Get to higher ground as far inland as possible. Watching a tsunami from the beach or cliffs could put you in grave danger.
– Avoid fallen power lines and stay away from buildings and bridges from which heavy objects might fall during an aftershock.
– Stay away until local officials tell you it is safe. A tsunami is a series of waves that may continue for hours. Do not assume that after one wave, the danger is over. The next wave may be larger than the first one.

After
– Let friends and family know you’re safe.
– If you have evacuated, return only when authorities say it is safe to do so.
– Continue listening to local news for updated information and instructions.
– If people around you are injured, practice CHECK, CALL, CARE. Check the scene to be sure it’s safe for you to approach; call for help; and if you are trained, provide first aid to those in need until emergency responders arrive.

Although earthquakes remain unpredictable, tsunamis can now be better foreseen through the use of technology. But this doesn’t give us an excuse to forego preparation. Remember that being prepared for disasters spells the difference between life and death.

REFERENCES:
http://www.dost.gov.ph/knowledge-resources/news/35-2012-news/213-dost-s-tsunami-warning-system-makes-coastal-communities-safer
http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77&Itemid=129
http://www.phivolcs.dost.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=312&Itemid=500027
http://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/tsunami#Fact-vs-Fiction
http://www.sms-tsunami-warning.com/pages/tsunami-sumatra-2004

“Ramil”, the first Tropical Cyclone of the month has exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and was last located at 240 kilometers north of Pagasa Island, Palawan. Now referred to as Tropical Storm “Damrey”, it has maximum sustained winds of 90 kilometers per hour hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 115 kph. Moving west at 20 kph, it will no longer have a direct effect on any part of the archipelago.

However, as an indirect effect, its trough or extended clouds will bring scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in Palawan. Meanwhile, the Northeast Monsoon or Hanging Amihan is expected to affect Northern Luzon, bringing a chance of light rains in Cagayan Valley, Cordillera and the Ilocos region. Metro Manila and the remaining parts of the country will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Because of the Amihan, gale warning is up in the northern and western seaboards of Northern Luzon including Batanes, Calayan, and Babuyan, as well as the northern coasts of Cagayan and Ilocos. The said areas will have rough to very rough sea conditions with wave height ranging from 2.5 to 4.5 meters. Sea travel remains risky for fishing boats and other small seacraft.

Meanwhile, a new cloud cluster was spotted in the eastern part of the PAR. In an interview with Panahon TV, PAGASA Weather Forecaster Chris Perez says it may develop into a Low Pressure Area (LPA) within the next 24 to 48 hours. The public is advised to monitor updates from the weather bureau.

Amihan breeze

Now that the Amihan season is in progress, temperatures are starting to drop. Amihan, which is cold and dry air coming from Mainland China or Siberia, usually starts to affect the country during the “ber” months, where slightly cooler weather prevails. Here are the top 3 lowest temperatures recorded yesterday, All Souls’ Day.

Baguio – 16.2°C
Tanay, Rizal – 17°C
Malaybalay – 19.4°C

(UPDATED AS OF 10:00 PM) Here’s a list of schools and areas where classes have been suspended for tomorrow, November 2, 2017, due to the observance of the All Souls’ Day.

SCHOOLS
– Ateneo de Davao

CITIES
– Angono, Rizal – work in public and private offices
– Butuan City, Agusan del Norte – work in government sectors and classes at all levels
– Cauayan, Isabela – special non-working day
– San Pablo, Laguna – all levels
– Tacloban City, Leyte – work in government sectors and classes at all levels

The Low Pressure Area (LPA) has developed into a Tropical Depression and was named “Ramil”, the first Tropical Cyclone within the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) for the month of November. Based on the latest bulletin issued at 11:00 AM today, it was last spotted at 85 kilometers (km) east-southeast of Coron, Palawan. Ramil has maximum winds of up to 45 kph and gustiness of up to 60 kph. Moving west at 20 kph, PAGASA Weather Forecaster Chris Perez said it is expected to exit the PAR tomorrow evening or Friday morning.

Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal Number 1 is hoisted in Northern Palawan including the Calamian Group of Islands, Southern Occidental Mindoro and Southern Oriental Mindoro, Aklan and Antique. In the next 36 hours, winds of 30-60 kph will be observed, along with rains and gusty winds. Residents are alerted against possible flash floods and landslides.

Metro Manila, Bicol Region, CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) and the provinces of Marinduque, Romblon and the rest of Palawan will experience cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rains and thunderstorms. The same weather condition is expected in Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Caraga and Central Luzon.

Meanwhile, the Northeast Monsoon or Hanging Amihan will bring cloudy skies with light rains in the rest of Luzon, while the rest of Mindanao can expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Apart from the light rains, Amihan is also expected to bring rough to very rough sea conditions in the seaboards of Northern Luzon ,as well as the eastern seaboards of Central and Southern Luzon. Fishing boats and other small seacraft are not allowed to venture out into the sea while larger sea vessels are alerted against big waves.