The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that in the past few years, there have been fewer typhoons hitting the Philippines, but they have been more intense and dangerous.
PAGASA predicts that the above trend of more intense and dangerous storms will continue in the coming years.
“Historical records show a decreasing trend in the frequency of tropical cyclones, but an increasing trend in the number of more intense storms,” said Dr. Ana Liza Solis, PAGASA director of weather and climate monitoring and forecasting, during a workshop on disaster communication organized by the Philippine Presidential Communications Office.
Dr. Solis pointed out that the Philippines has been hit by an average of at least 19 to 20 tropical storms annually over the past 10 years. But now, such a number is rare.
"That means, historically, we have had more hurricanes and typhoons. And the trend is that hurricanes and typhoons can become more intense," she added.
With the possibility of this phenomenon continuing in the context of increasingly severe climate change, Ms. Solis said the best response is to prepare and build a long-term adaptation strategy.
“We need to adapt and be resilient because the storms will come, we need to deal with the storms,” Solis told the Philippine News Agency in a separate interview.
The administration of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been developing ways to address the long-term impact of climate-related disasters, including through major government projects such as flood mitigation works, irrigation system construction, and resilience initiatives for major river basins and dams.
The Philippines has suffered dozens of casualties and property damage worth billions of pesos as six typhoons hit several provinces in the past two months, with the most recent super typhoon Pepito (Man-yi) hitting Luzon the hardest.
Many of the storms after passing through the Philippines entered the East Sea, such as storm Enteng (storm Yagi - storm number 3), storm Kristine (storm Trami - storm number 6), super storm Pepito (super storm Man-yi - storm number 9).
PAGASA's typhoon forecast said the Philippines will still face one or two more storms that could make landfall in December.
PAGASA said that if the storm makes landfall in the first week of December, it is likely to be stronger than if it makes landfall in late December.
