Regarding Typhoon Conson (“Basyang”)
By Willie Galang
Published 15 July 2010, 15:36 • Tweet
I missed the actual forecast made by PAGASA on the night before Typhoon Conson wreaked havoc on us, so I was a little lost as to why a lot of people, including Philippine President Noynoy Aquino himself, were berating the weather bureau for making another forecasting mistake. All I remember that morning of July 13, last Tuesday, after checking the projected path and estimated time of landfall of Conson (renamed locally as “Basyang,”) I told my wife that we should be home by 9 PM in case the typhoon indeed hits land that night as predicted, arguing, “we don’t know how strong it’ll be.” I wasn’t able to save a picture of the forecast from the weather service I consulted, but I remember the swath of the storm was predicted to pass through, if not partially clip, the capital, hence the notification to The Wifey.
We got home that night past 10 PM, and sure enough, the winds were beginning to be felt. Close to midnight, power was already cut-off in our area in Manila, and Conson was beginning to batter the metropolis and most probably nearby provinces as well.
So I was a bit surprised to learn that many people were still shocked that Conson hit Metro Manila the way it did. Later I found out about the PAGASA forecast. With all the possible help that our local weather bureau can get within their authority and connections, we’re still recipients of way-off projections. Northern Luzon? Come on, PAGASA. The usual excuse from the bureau? Lack of funds for sophisticated storm-tracking equipment. And that Conson was an unusual storm. (That “unusual” storm remark made me snicker, really.)
I’m not being smart-alecky here, nor trying to be too hard on PAGASA. Weather systems are complicated and unpredictable, I get that. But if a Filipino citizen ignorant about meteorology (like me, for instance) can just check a weather forecast from an external or foreign source, live or die with the information at hand, without even bothering to see what PAGASA is saying, then the latter will eventually become irrelevant. And if something is irrelevant, why would the government allocate more budget for it?
Don’t misconstrue me. I’m all for modernizing further our storm-tracking systems.
This article originally appeared here at williegalang.com at this specific URL:
http://williegalang.com/2010/07/15/typhoon.conson
About this Weblog
My name is Willie Galang and I’m based in Manila. I comment on current events and popular culture plus share some personal stories as well.
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