Prepare!

PREPARE!

by Antonio C. Antonio

December 2, 2014

PAGASA has been coming out with regular weather bulletins about Typhoon Hagupit which is predicted to make landfall on Friday or Saturday (December 7 or 8, 2014).  PAGASA is already sounding alarm bells as Hagupit could be in the category of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). 

The use of the name “Hagupit” has caused some degree of worry among those who are aware that when a Filipino name is given to a typhoon, the storm is already within the PAR or Philippine Area of Responsibility.  This simply means that the typhoon is already being felt somewhere in our archipelago.  “Hagupit” turned out to still be an “international name”… meaning, it is still days away from us.

In the 1950s, American weather forecasters started naming tropical storms after people.  The practice started with female names; although male names have already been used in the last decade.  Philippine weather forecasters, however, also started using Filipino names for tropical storms in 1963.  They also introduced the practice of using names of people in alphabetical order; starting from letter “A” to “Z”.  This explains why there are always two names to typhoons; for example “Haiyan” (international name) and “Yolanda” (Philippine name).

In January 2000, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Typhoon Committee began the use of names to typhoons nominated by 14 Asian countries.  These suggested names were no longer limited to people’s names but included names of both fauna and flora and others such as food, places, etc.  This veered away from the traditional American and Filipino practice of using only human names.  The WMO practice also did not follow the alphabetical nomenclature.  The name “Hagupit” was one of the names submitted by the Philippines.  In September 19, 2008, the name “Hagupit” was already used by the WMO… however, its Philippine name was Typhoon “Nina”.

The international name “Hagupit” could have been an acceptable since it is also a Filipino term.  But today, PAGASA has named Typhoon Hagupit as Typhoon Ruby.  There are those who say that the name-change was not necessary while some also say that it will break the alphabetical order.

International or local naming of typhoons may seem to be a trivial matter compared to the possible damage Typhoon Hagupit/Ruby may cause.  Whatever the name may be, it is more important to prepare!

Just my little thoughts…

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