As storms grow more severe, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has officially added Signal No. 5 to its storm warning scale.
PAGASA Acting Administrator Dr. Vicente Malano said they have modified its public storm warning signal because tropical cyclones have become much stronger recently.
PAGASA noted that for the past 10 years, the Philippines has experienced a number of extremely damaging tropical cyclones, particularly typhoons with more than 220 kilometers per hour (kph) of sustained winds.
“We have revised our warning system based on studies undertaken by some of our scientists, including our experiences in the past when we had Signal No. 5. We have considered the frequency in the occurrence of strong cyclones because super typhoon has become more frequent now,” Malano said.
Last year, PAGASA officially adopted the “super typhoon” category.
However, according to stakeholders, “the extensive and devastating damages caused by strong typhoons, such as typhoon Yolanda in 2013 made the four-level warning system numbers 1-4 inadequate,” Malano explained.
Manila Bulletin
