HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL
PHENOMENA AND
HAZARDS
THE EARTH’S INTERNAL HEAT DRIVES GEOLOGIC PROCESSES THAT
ALLOWS VOLCANISM AND PLATE MOVEMENT TO PROCEED. IN THE
PREVIOUS SECTION, WE HAVE DISCUSSED HAZARDS SUCH
EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS. IN THIS SECTION, WE
WILL GO UP TO THE SURFACE AND ATMOSPHERE AND
UNDERSTAND HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL (WATER HIGH ABOVE IN
THE ATMOSPHERE) PHENOMENA AND THE HAZARDS THAT THEY
BRING. WE WILL HAVE A GLIMPSE ON THE PROCESSES INVOLVED
IN THE FORMATION OF TYPHOONS, CYCLICAL WIND PATTERNS AND
FLOODS.
THE PHILIPPINES HAS A TROPICAL AND MARITIME CLIMATE.
ANNUALLY, THE COUNTRY IS VISITED BY AN AVERAGE OF 20
TYPHOONS, FIVE TO NINE OF WHICH ARE HIGHLY DESTRUCTIVE.
THE PHILIPPINES IS SITUATED IN THE PACIFIC TYPHOONS BELT
THUS, THE COUNTRY HIGHLY PRONE TO HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL
HAZARDS.
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL HAZARDS
THEY ARE BROUGHT BY EXTREME METEOROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE PHENOMENA THAT
INCLUDE TROPICAL CYCLONES, THUNDERSTORMS, TORNADOES (IPO-IPO), DROUGHT, AND
FLOODS.
TROPICAL CYCLONES
TROPICAL CYCLONES ARE ALSO CALLED HURRICANES, TROPICAL STORMS, OR TROPICAL DEPRESSIONS
DEPENDING ON IT’S SOURCE LOCATION.
TROPICAL CYCLONES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY STRONG WINDS, HEAVY RAIN AND A DISTINCT LOW
PRESSURE CENTER (CALLED THE ‘EYE’).
TROPICAL CYCLONES ARE KNOWN IN VARIOUS NAMES DEPENDING ON THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU
LIVE. IN THE WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC AROUND THE PHILIPIPINES, JAPAN, AND CHINA THE STORMS
ARE KNOWN AS TYPHOONS, WHILE IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN AND THE EASTERN NORTH
PACIFIC THEY ARE REFERRED TO AS HURRICANES. HERE ARE THE TOP FIVE DESTRUCTIVE TYPHOONS
TO EVER HIT THE COUNTRY: TYPHOON HAIPHONG (1881), TYPHOON HAIYAN (YOLANDA) (2013),
TROPICAL STORM THELMA (URING) (1991), TYPHOON BOPHA (PABLO) (2012), AND TYPHOON ANGELA
(1867).
TROPICAL CYCLONES DELIVER STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL INLAND WHERE COASTAL
COMMUNITIES ARE FIRST AND FOREMOST AFFECTED. TROPICAL CYCLONE EFFECTS INCLUDE
FLOODING, STRUCTURAL DAMAGES, AND STORM SURGES. MODERN STRUCTURES NOW ARE BUILT
TO RESIST STRONG WINDS TO AVOID FLYING ROOFS AND DILAPIDATION OF WALLS AND FLOORS.
BECAUSE OF SUCH ADVANCEMENTS IN ENGINEERING, MOST HOUSEHOLD NO LONGER NEED TO
WORRY MUCH FOR CYCLONES WITH LOW TO MODERATE WINDS. HOWEVER, THE MAIN CONCERN
NOW LIES IN THE FACT THAT CYCLONES ALSO BRING HEAVY RAINS THAT CAN CAUSE FLOODING
AND LANDSLIDES.
STORM SURGE
IS THE LANDWARD PHENOMENOM OF WATER RISING ABOVE THE NORMAL SEA OR TIDAL
LEVELS DUE TO A LOW PRESSURE (CYCLONES) AREA FORMING IN THE SEA. THE HEIGHT OF
WATER THAT IS MOVING TOWARDS LAND IS AN EFFECT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS SUCH AS:
PRESSURE CONTRAST IN THE CYCLONE, WIND STRENGTH, SHAPE OF COAST, AND SLOPE. STORM
SURGES ARE SIMILAR TO TSUNAMIS BUT DIFFER IN THEIR ORIGIN (TSUNAMIS ARE GENERATED
BY EARTHQUAKES OR LANDSLIDES) AND DURATION (USUALLY, STORM SURGES PERSIST LONGER
THAN TSUNAMIS). NEVERTHELESS, STORM SURGES ARE DANGEROUS ESPECIALLY IN COASTAL
COMMUNITIES USUALLY AFFECTED BY STRONG CYCLONES.
MONSOONS
A MONSOON IS A SEASONAL WIND AND RAIN PATTERN, AND THE WORD “MONSOON” IS
BELIEVED TO HAVE ORIGINATED FROM THE ARABIC WORD MAWSIM (SEASON), VIA
PORTUGUESE AND THE DUTCH MONSUN. THERE ARE TWO KNOWN MONSOONS IN THE
PHILPPINES THAT OCCUR EVERY YEAR: SUMMER SOUTHWEST (HABAGAT) AND WINTER
NORTHEAST MONSOON (AMIHAN).
AMIHAN: BRINGS CLOUDLESS SKIES AND NIPPY MORNINGS DURING THE DRY SEASON (OCTOBER
TO LATE MARCH)
HABAGAT: BRINGS HEAVY RAINS AND SOME DEADLY TYPHOONS (JUNE TO SEPTEMBER)
MONSOON ARE DEFINED AS THE SEASONAL VARIATION OF WIND PATTERN WHICH CAN BRING
SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION AND AFFECTING LAND AND SEA SURFACE
TEMPERATURES.
MONSOONS ARE OFTEN DESCRIBED AS SYNONYMOUS TO SEA BREEZE (MOVEMENT OF COLD
SEA AIR TOWARDS WARM LAND) ONLY AT A LARGER SCALE. THERE ARE SPECIFIC SETS OF
MONSOON PATTERN FOR DIFFERENT PORTION OF THE EARTH.
MONSOON HAZARDS
MONSOONS CAN BRING HEAVY RAINFALL DEPENDING ON THE TYPE PREVALENT WINDS THAT IS
BLOWING AT A PARTICULAR TIME. NEVERTHELESS, EXCESSIVE RAINFALL CAN INDUCE FLOODING
AND LANDSLIDES IN HIGH-RISK LOCALITIES. PREPARATION AND KNOWLEDGE DISSEMINATION
FOR AREAS AFFECTED BY HEAVY RAINFALL BROUGHT BY MONSOON SHOULD BE ONE OF THE
TOP PRIORITIES. AFTER ALL, THE CYCLICAL NATURE OF MONSOON SHOWS THEY WILL OCCUR
FROM TIME TO TIME WITHIN THE YEAR.
FLOODS
FLOODS IS AN ABNORMAL PROGRESSIVE RISE IN THE WATER LEVEL OF A STREAM THAT MAY
RESULT IN THE OVERFLOW BY THE WATER OF THE NORMAL CONFINES OF THE STREAM. A FLOOD
CAN VARY IN SIZE, SPEED OF WATER, AND DURATION.
FLOODING IS THE FLOW OF FLOW OF WATER IN AREAS THAT ARE NORMALLY DRY. FLOODING
CAN HAPPEN FROM DIFFERENT EVENTS SUCH AS HEAVY RAINFALL, TIDAL EFFECTS, STORM
SURGES, AND TSUNAMIS. FLOODS RELATED TO CYCLONE EVENTS OFTEN PERSISTS FOR QUITE
SOME TIME BEFORE EVENTUALLY DRAINING OUT BACK TO THE SEA. THE TIME IN WHICH
FLOODWATERS DRAIN VARY FROM PLACE TO PLACE DEPENDING ON DRAINAGE/RIVER PATTERN
AND STATE, SEWAGE SYSTEMS, COASTAL CONDITIONS, ETC. LANDSLIDES DURING TROPICAL
CYCLONES ARE VERY COMMON IN MOUNTAINOUS AREAS DUE TO THE ADDITION OF EXCESSIVE
WATER IN SLOPES (SEE MASS WASTING; WATER AND TRIGGERING EVENTS).
TORNADO
A TORNADO IS A NARROW, VIOLENTLY ROTATING COLUMN OF AIR THAT EXTEND FROM A
THUNDERSTORM TO THE GROUND. THE MAIN CAUSE OF TORNADOS ARE THUNDERSTORMS
THOUGH TORNADOES ARE NOT COMMON IN THE PHILIPPINES, STILL IT CAN OCCUR AT ANY TIME
OF THE YEAR.
TORNADOES ARE VIOLENTLY ROTATING COLUMNS OF AIR IN CONTACT WITH THE EARTH AND A
CLOUD. THE FORMATION OF TORNADOES ARE GENERALLY SIMILAR TO THE FORMATION OF
CYCLONES (HENCE TORNADOES WERE ONCE CALLED CYCLONES). TORNADOES, HOWEVER, LASTS
FOR A RELATIVELY SHORTER AMOUNT OF TIME DUE TO THE RAPID WEAKENING AND PRESSURE
STABILIZATION. NEVERTHELESS, TORNADOES CAN BRING DESTRUCTION IN A MATTER OF
MINUTES ESPECIALLY TO STRUCTURES ON ITS PATH. OTHER SIMILAR PHENOMENA TO
TORNADOES INCLUDE DUST DEVILS AND WATERSPOUTS.
A Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) is a
plain text warning to particular land area
that may experience winds of at least
strong breeze in strength on the Beaufort
Scale (i.e., 39 km/h, 22 kt or higher) within
at most 36 hours from the time the signal
is put into effect during the passage of a
tropical cyclone. A particular wind signal
has an equivalent expected wind threat,
length of time (in hours) before onset of
expected wind threat, and potential
impacts to the locality. The current TCWS
system uses five (5) levels of wind signals
that are numbered from 1 to 5, with a
higher signal number associated with
higher general wind strength and shorter
warning lead time.
GROUP 2
LILIANE JANE BALLOGUING
CHELZEA REIGN GALANTO
BECKLEY DOMINO
DREXEL WIGAN
JAMES GAMBON
ANGELICA CORTEZ
MAC JORDAN COSNING
ANGELO DEL ROSARIO
JACKLYN TANDOC
