TWO years after supertyphoon Yolanda devastated the Visayas, the state weather bureau Pagasa said it had stepped up its capabilities to release more detailed weather advisories.
Pagasa-Central Visayas weather specialist Jhomer Eclarino said their updates now include storm surge warnings and wave heights. He said this has helped save a lot of lives.
“Nakapasok na siya sa bulletin. Pag magre-release tayo ng bulletin nakalagay na ang height niya [storm surge] (It’s already in our bulletin. Every time we release bulletins, storm surge heights are already included),” he said.
Through these warnings, Eclarino said people are warned in advance of what may happen resulting in more effective evacuations from flood-prone areas. He said they will set up Doppler radar in Bohol in 2017.
Eclarino said the radar can measure the radial velocity of the typhoon, its intensity and center.
Pagasa has Doppler radars in Mactan, Cebu; Quezon, Palawan; and Iloilo.
They replaced the Doppler radar in Guiuan, Samar that was destroyed by Yolanda with a mobile one.
“There is a new Doppler radar that will be installed there,” Eclarino said.