4 to 7 storms to form inside or enter Philippine area before 2024 ends: PAGASA | ABS-CBN

ADVERTISEMENT

dpo-dps-seal
Welcome, Kapamilya! We use cookies to improve your browsing experience. Continuing to use this site means you agree to our use of cookies. Tell me more!

4 to 7 storms to form inside or enter Philippine area before 2024 ends: PAGASA

4 to 7 storms to form inside or enter Philippine area before 2024 ends: PAGASA

Ariel Rojas,

ABS-CBN News

 | 

Updated Sep 25, 2024 09:08 PM PHT

Clipboard

Rain continues to pour on pedestrians and motorists near EDSA in Quezon City on September 4, 2024, hours after tropical storm Enteng exited the Philippine area of responsibility. State weather bureau PAGASA said some areas in Luzon are still expected to experience rains as Enteng continues to enhance the habagat. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News Rain continues to pour on pedestrians and motorists near EDSA in Quezon City on September 4, 2024, hours after tropical storm Enteng exited the Philippine area of responsibility. State weather bureau PAGASA said some areas in Luzon are still expected to experience rains as Enteng continues to enhance the habagat. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA – Four to seven tropical cyclones may form inside or enter the Philippine area of responsibility in the last quarter of 2024, PAGASA said Wednesday. 


Two or three storms are forecast in October and one or two each in November and December, the state weather bureau said in a climate forum. 


Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section Chief Ana Solis said tropical cyclones tend to make landfall and cross the country around this period. 


Most of the past October storms made landfall over Luzon while November and December cyclones mostly hit Bicol, Eastern Visayas, and eastern Mindanao.


Solis added that although a weak La Niña is possible in the same period, intense typhoons could also be expected. 


"Historically, may nakita tayong during weak La Niña [in the] last quarter of the year, mas nagkakaroon tayo ng occurrences ng mga super typhoon and typhoon category [na mga bagyo]... at the same time rain-bearing yung mga bagyo natin," she said. 


(When a weak La Niña coincides with the last quarter of the year, we see super typhoon and typhoon strength storms, which are also rain-bearing.) 



State weather forecasters see a storm forming off Northern Luzon this weekend.


The next storm names in PAGASA's list for 2024 include the following. 


• Julian

•  Kristine

•  Leon

•  Marce

•  Nika

•  Ofel

•  Pepito

•  Querubin 



INCREASED TROPICAL CYCLONE ACTIVITY 


The potential Julian could be the tenth weather disturbance in the country this 2024 and the sixth this September.

Six storms in the country in September is very rare as it only happened twice in the past: in 1978 and 1993.

Climatologists attribute this increased tropical cyclone activity to the lack of storms in the previous months and the warm sea temperatures near the country.


“Hanggang August, wala tayong gaanong bagyo pero energy balance 'yun eh so pagdating ng susunod na buwan, like for this case September, maraming bagyo,” Climatology and Agrometeorology Division Chief Thelma Cinco said. 

“Nakita natin mostly near the land area 'yung mga nabubuong low pressure area at ang bibilis [maging bagyo], di ba? Kasi mas mainit kaysa sa normal 'yung na-observe natin na sea surface temperature sa Philippine Sea,” she added.  


(There were only a few storms until August. The energy balance must be maintained so many tropical cyclones formed this August. Many low pressure systems also formed near land and rapidly developed into storms. This is due to warmer than normal sea surface temperatures over the Philippine Sea.) 


The first nine tropical cyclones of 2024 caused 101 deaths, 64 injuries, and 34 missing, based on reports of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

 

Cumulative damage to infrastructure amounted to P7.6 billion, while the agriculture sector suffered around P4 billion in damage. 


In 2023, there were only 11 storms in the country -- tying the record for the least number of storms in a year with 1998 and 2010. This was seen as an effect of the strong El Niño that gripped many parts of the world. 




ADVERTISEMENT

Hamas to free 6 Israeli Gaza hostages, hand over 4 bodies this week

Hamas to free 6 Israeli Gaza hostages, hand over 4 bodies this week

Agence France-Presse,

Alice Chancellor

Clipboard

Palestinian militant group Hamas fighters secure an area before handing over two Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team in Khan Yunis on February 1, 2025, as part of fourth hostage-prisoner exchange. Eyad Baba, AFP/FilePalestinian militant group Hamas fighters secure an area before handing over two Israeli hostages to a Red Cross team in Khan Yunis on February 1, 2025, as part of fourth hostage-prisoner exchange. Eyad Baba, AFP/File

JERUSALEM -- Hamas said Tuesday that it would hand over all six living Israeli hostages due for release under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire this week, as well as the bodies of four dead captives.

The fragile Gaza truce took effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of fighting between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the Palestinian militant group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Thirty-three Israeli hostages were due to be released under the first phase, with 19 freed so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners. Of the remaining 14, Israel says eight are dead.

Five Thai nationals held in Gaza since the 2023 attack have also been released outside the scope of the truce deal.

ADVERTISEMENT

Hamas "decided to release on Saturday, February 22, the remaining living (Israeli) prisoners whose release was agreed in the first phase, numbering six", the group's top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya said in a televised address.

The group had also "decided to hand over four bodies on Thursday... and the enemy will release the corresponding prisoners", Hayya said.

Israel subsequently confirmed the arrangements, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office saying that during indirect negotiations in Cairo, "agreements were reached" for the six living hostages to be released on Saturday.

It added that the bodies of four hostages would be returned on Thursday, ahead of four others next week.

These would be the first bodies returned by Hamas to Israel since the start of the war.

A Palestinian source close to the negotiations said mediators had presented the request for the new releases, adding they aimed "for this step to create a positive atmosphere, insisting on the continuation of the ceasefire".

The first phase of the truce is due to expire on March 1, and negotiations on the next stages, including a permanent end to the war, have not yet begun.

The truce deal has so far held despite both sides trading accusations of violations, and despite the strain placed on it by US President Donald Trump's widely condemned plan to take control of Gaza and relocate its population.

- Arab summits -

Saudi Arabia is set to host the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Friday to present their own plan for Gaza's reconstruction while ensuring that Palestinians remain on their land.

Egypt and Jordan have been floated by Trump as possible destinations for displaced Gazans, though both countries have rejected the idea.

After the Saudi meeting, Egypt will host an extraordinary Arab League meeting on Gaza, with participants expected to address Trump's plan.

Though initially set for next week, the summit has been postponed to March 4, Egypt said Tuesday.

For Palestinians, any forced displacement evokes memories of the "Nakba", or catastrophe -- the mass displacement of their ancestors during Israel's creation in 1948.

On Monday, Egypt hosted the latest meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which initially gathered in Saudi Arabia last year.

Egypt's foreign ministry stressed Cairo's "full commitment to implementing the two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and "the necessity of establishing an independent Palestinian state".

- 'Demilitarization' -

Israel, meanwhile, demanded on Tuesday the "complete demilitarization of Gaza", with Foreign Minister Gideon Saar saying it would "not accept the continued presence of Hamas or any other terrorist groups" in the Palestinian territory.

Saar also said Israel would begin negotiations "this week" on the second phase of the truce, which aims to lay out a more permanent end to the war.

A Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have earlier said negotiations on a second phase could begin this week in Doha.

Qatar, a key mediator in the Gaza conflict, said on Tuesday that Palestinians must decide the territory's post-war future.

"From our perspective, this is a Palestinian question on what happens post this conflict," said Ansari when asked about Israel's stated objective to eliminate Hamas.

"It is a Palestinian question on who represents the Palestinians in an official capacity and also the political groups and parties in the political sphere," he said.

Ansari also said that humanitarian aid into Gaza "today is insufficient".

Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,291 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

© Agence France-Presse

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

It looks like you’re using an ad blocker

Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.

Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.