Typhoons in the Philippines

(Summary by Chester Vinz B. Arias)

The Philippines is an archipelago made up of 7,641 islands, surrounded by bodies of water, a

tropical country and is located near the equator. Surrounding the equator is the Intertropical
Convergence Zone (ITCZ), an area where tropical cyclones form. Being in the tropics and at the
western rim of the Pacific Ocean, it is evident that there is an abundant supply of warm waters
that would continuously provide the energy needed for tropical cyclones to form and develop. With
these factors and its location, Philippines suffers an annual aggression of dangerous tropical
cyclones.

The term “area of responsibility” originated from US military but nowadays, it is being used in
oceanography, both in forecasting and weather reporting.

PAGASA uses this term concerning the weather disturbances that periodically hit the country.
PAGASA monitors and analyses tropical cyclone activities as well as all meteorological and
astronomical phenomena that may hit and affect the country and provide relevant information
about them for the protection of life and properties.

Modern track records of tropical cyclones that had entered and crossed the Philippine Area of
Responsibility (PAR) originated somewhere at the Western Pacific Ocean where our country is
situated. The movements of tropical cyclones differ due to wind movements and surrounding air
pressures.

The frequency of tropical cyclones differs depending on the regions in the Philippines. North Luzon
at 32% and Batanes Group at 25% were the highest frequency, meaning tropical cyclones are very
frequent in these regions. Next would be Southern Bicol, Mindoro, Masbate, Northern Panay, Samar
and Northern Leyte at 19% (frequent), Central Luzon, Northern Bicol, Southern Tagalog Provinces
and NCR at 16% (frequent), Palawan, Southern Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Northern Mindanao and
Southern Leyte at 7% (less frequent) and Central and Southern Mindanao at 1% (rare).

The damaging effects of tropical cyclones depend on how strong it could be. The stronger it is, the
more destructive it could be and can cause large number of casualties and extensive damage to
properties and plantations.

The most common effects of tropical cyclones include flooding, landslides, destruction of
infrastructures, the environment and death.