MANILA — Two PAGASA weather radars were left non-operational by earthquakes over the past 4 years, the state weather agency said Wednesday.

This brings the total number of non-operational radars to eight out of the 20 maintained by the weather bureau.

The Doppler radar tower in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur showed huge cracks after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake jolted eastern Mindanao last December 2.

Located along the Pacific coast, the local government said the area could be vulnerable to soil liquefaction and was cordoned off Tuesday evening.

• PAGASA's Doppler radar in Hinatuan among those damaged by quake

The Tampakan radar complex in South Cotabato was rendered unsafe for occupancy after a series of strong earthquakes struck Cotabato province in October 2019. It has not been operational since.

In an interview in November last year, former PAGASA administrator Vicente Malano said they were looking into the transfer of the facility to Cotabato City.

• PAGASA says 4 weather radars damaged, 700 additional personnel needed

PAGASA deputy administrator Dr. Bonifacio Pajuelas said they were waiting for the final report from their Mindanao regional office on the status of the Hinatuan Doppler radar after the local public works office declared the building "structurally unsafe."

While the Hinatuan station personnel are not allowed to enter the cordoned area, Pajuelas said they guard the facility's surroundings to look after the equipment. Depending on the final assessment of the facility's safety, he said complete relocation of the weather station to another site was not off the table.

Weather radars observe cloud coverage and rainfall. PAGASA uses its radars to monitor approaching storms and other severe weather systems including thunderstorms to issue necessary warnings.

Apart from the Hinatuan and Tampakan radars, six other radars are non-operational.

Radars located in Basco, Batanes which were damaged by Typhoon Ferdie in 2016 and radars in Bato, Catanduanes destroyed by Super Typhoon Rolly in 2020 are still under reconstruction. The Aparri, Cagayan and Baguio City radars are under maintenance, while the Iloilo radar is for replacement, and the Agno, Pangasinan radar is still under construction.

Pajuelas could not confirm when these activities would be completed.

While Northern Luzon, Western Visayas, and most of Mindanao are considered "blind spots" due to these ongoing projects, Pajuelas said the 12 operational radars were enough to cover the entire country.

"Kakayanin naman yun. Huwag lang masyado dito sa Mindanao mangyari sana 'yung mga severe weather [events]," he said.

He added that even with the absence of radar in these areas, PAGASA also utilizes weather satellite imagery and data from weather stations that are equally important in forecasting.

• Timing of recent successive quakes a coincidence, says Phivolcs

For more updates, visit the ABS-CBN weather center.

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