‘Ramil’ loses steam but remains a threat to N. Luzon

10/22/2009

The state weather bureau yesterday said typhoon “Ramil” had slightly weakened and will no longer “reach super typhoon strength” as it approaches Cagayan but that it still carries strong winds and a downpour that may prove hazardous to disaster-stricken regions of Northern Luzon.

“Ramil is now closer to Northern Luzon. Stormy weather can be expected there until Friday,” Nathaniel Cruz, weather branch chief of Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said.

Ramil slightly slowed down Wednesday morning due to its interaction with high pressure area between South China Sea and Hong Kong and vertical wind shear, or winds

of different directions which “distracts” the circulation of the typhoon, the weather bureau added.

Pagasa said Ramil was now likely to hit the country’s north on Friday, a day later than forecast.

As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, Ramil was located at 455 km east northeast of Aparri, Cagayan, with maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometer per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 210 kph.

Signal No. 3 remains hoisted over Batanes Group, Cagayan, Calayan Island and Babuyan Islands.

Signal No. 2 is raised over Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Isabela, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Benguet and La Union while Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Aurora, Northern Quezon, Polillo Islands, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zambales remain under Signal No. 1.

Ramil is set to be the third major storm in less than a month to pound Luzon and many areas remain extremely vulnerable to further bad weather, with dams already overflowing and soaked soil unable to absorb more rain.

Rescue and relief units and supplies have already been positioned in parts of Northern Luzon, which are expected to bear the brunt of the typhoon.

“We are alerting the mayors of the towns to be affected. We are ready with a large number of relief goods which can be delivered when needed,” said Grace Padaca, governor of the province of Isabela, which lies in Ramil’s path.

She added residents were taking all necessary precautions for such storms and that “we are more used to this. We take it as a matter of fact but that is not to say we do not suffer the consequences.”

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said “rescue and relief assets” from both the Philippine and US militaries as well as from the United Nations were on standby.

He added the local authorities in provinces in Ramil’s trajectory have been told to prepare to evacuate residents forcibly.

“The best thing we can do (is) for preemptive evacuations to be done on an aggressive basis in vulnerable areas, those that live beside rivers, beside mountains and coastal areas,” Teodoro said.

Evacuations, however, are at the discretion of the provincial governments, he added.

Meanwhile, an official of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs) also yesterday said the “probability” of a collapse, a rupture or damage of San Roque dam in Pangasinan due to earthquake is unlikely.

“The San Roque dam, before it was constructed, has done a lot of studies, with current active faults. The major active fault there is the Philippine fault zone called San Manuel segment. The dam is not on top of it. If you look at an overview of the area, the fault is below the foot of the mountain. The dam is above it,” Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum Jr. told the Senate climate change committee hearing.

His assurance came following a recent minor earthquake felt in Southern Luzon and Metro Manila and the incoming typhoon which is the current cause of concern, especially of residents in Northern Luzon who were gravely affected by the spillage from San Roque dam when it released water during the height of Typhoon “Pepeng.”

Calls have been made for a shutdown of operations of San Roque dam as a number of sectors, including local officials, noted apparent lack of proper management by both the dam operators and the National Power Corp. (Napocor), as shown by the flooding in Pangasinan.

Solidum maintained that fears of a possible rupture of the dam structure is not feasible since the San Manuel segment as the San Roque dam is seven kilometers apart.

Danilo Sedilla of the Napocor told the panel headed by Sen. Loren Legarda that when they called for a bid on the San Roque project in March 1979, part of the information given to proponent is the conduct of an engineering geology or a feasibility study.

“The information on these faults were already incorporated. So in the construction and design made by the San Roque Power Corp., they did not rely only on the info provided by the Napocor. What they did is to consult several engineering experts like the design they used. The study made by the engineers, the maximum credible earthquake that was identified was magnitude 7.2 in the Richter scale. The design of the dam is 7.8 (magnitude scale),” he said.

Solidum further assured that even on the matter of ground shaking, the design of the dam is over than the expected ground shaking. Angie M. Rosales, PNA and AFP

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