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The rainy season has begun, the Philippine
Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)
announced Friday.
PAGASA Director Dr. Prisco Nilo
told reporters that the rainy season associated with the Southwest
monsoon (Habagat) had started this week and was slightly earlier
than usual.
Nilo said that the passage of
Typhoon Butchoy off the eastern coast of the archipelago had
triggered off the Southwest windflow, and this had been further
enhanced by the development of Tropical Depression Cosme west of
Luzon.
He added widespread rains over
sections of Luzon and the Visayas had been observed the past few
days, including the occurrence of rainshowers in the early
afternoons and evenings in other areas.
“The rainy season is expected
to peak during the months of July and August, accompanied by an
increase in occurrences of tropical cyclones which are associated
with heavy rainfall and strong winds,” he said.
PAGASA’s Weather Branch Chief
told reporters that the La Niña was weakening. However, Nilo
attributed the slightly earlier start of the rainy season to the
lingering effects of La Niña.
Nilo explained that the rainy
season officially starts when the Weather bureau’s eight
monitoring stations throughout the Philippines record an average of
25 millimeters of rain within five days. He said the stations the
past five days had registered from 42 to 158 millimeters of
rainfall.
The Philippines has an average of
20 typhoons yearly and Nilo said this is the number of typhoons
expected to hit the country this 2008.
But Nilo said there is no
possibility that a cyclone as devastating as that of Myanmar’s
would affect the Philippines this year. He explained that the
widespread deaths in that country were caused by a storm surge that
caused widespread flooding in a highly populated mega-delta.
He said the Philippines has no
mega-delta near the Pacific Ocean where most typhoons occur.
--IKE SUAREZ
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