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how storms are essntial

An average of 18 to 20 tropical cyclones enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) yearly. This number is more than enough to cause devastation in different parts of the country.

As the national weather bureau, PAGASA duly informs and warns the Filipino people against every weather disturbance that may affect the country. Together with the Office of Civil Defense and the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), information and disaster preparedness drives are implemented.
But during the onslaught of a tropical cyclone, people tend to focus on the losses it has caused, and rarely talk about its benefits.

Here’s are some reasons why storms are essential to our survival:

They fill up our reservoirs. In a tropical country like the Philippines, a large portion of the annual rain comes from cyclones. Though these are dubbed as “weather disturbances,” cyclones don’t only get rid of pollutants in the atmosphere, but also give us our much-needed water supply. In fact, studies shows that 25% of the water supplies in India and Southeast Asia come from rain showers brought by cyclones. Regions that are facing dry and drought conditions can benefit from cyclones. Increased rainfall enables the ground to hold more moisture that is conducive to crops.

They keep our bodies of water healthy. Rain showers help river systems flush out silt. According to National Geographic, silt is made up of rock and minerals that are bigger than clay but smaller than sand, that are worn away by water or ice. Silts are fine sediment that gathers at the bottoms of river, streams and lakes. These can be a rich source of nutrients for fish, however it can be presented by unnatural process. Build up of silts introduced by industry can be harmful as it contains chemicals.
Another advantage of rains is they inundate areas where fish can breed, thus increasing the number of fish. Cyclones can also help circulate nutrients from the seafloor, boosting ocean productivity.

They balance the global temperature. Cyclones move towards the poles, thus balancing the earth’s temperature by pushing warm tropical away from the equator. It is said that the poles will get a lot colder, and the tropics would get a lot hotter if there were no tropical cyclones.

sources:

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/encyclopedia/silt/

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