Typhoon tips

Here are very practical tips and timely reminders to prepare for a storm from Plan International,
Philippine Red Cross and the Official Gazette:

Before

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1. Be updated with the latest weather reports.

As an incoming weather disturbance is approaching the country, it is important to always keep

yourself updated with the latest weather reports. Staying informed with the latest weather
bulletins and following government announcements and warnings are the best starting points to
prepare yourself and your families for the storm.

2. Make communication plans.

Make a family communication plans so that you can establish the whereabouts of all family
members (and keep mobile phones charged!). Stay in contact but have a plan in case cell phone
coverage disappears during the storm; like a predestined meet-up place where you can find each
other once it is safe to go out again.

It is important to ready a list of emergency hotlines to call too.

NDRRMC: (02) 911-1406, 912-2665, 912-5668, 911-1873

PNP: 117 or TXT PNP to 2920, 0917-847-5757

BFP: 117, (02) 729-5166, 410-6319

DOTC: 7890, (02) 726-6255

MMDA: 136, 882-0860, 882-3983, (02) 882-4154 to 74 loc. 337

Pagasa: (02) 927,-9308, 434-2696

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DSWD: (632) 931-8101 to 07 loc. 426, (02) 951-7119

Red Cross: 143, (02) 527-0000, (02) 527-8385 to 95

Phivolcs: (02) 426-1468 to 79 loc. 124/125, 0905-3134077

In the Visayas, the emergency hotline numbers are as follows:

Cebu City’s Command Control Center: 166, (032) 262-1424, 0923-524-8222, 0932-537-7770,
0947-178-0000, 0947- 178-9999

Tacloban RDRRMC: 0915-762-2368, 0917-855-3868, 0915-184-0918

Tacloban CDRRMC: 0917-322-9585, 0917-315-8356

Samar PDRRMC: (055) 251-3413, 0927-337-2702

Calbayog CDRRMC: (055) 209-3993, 0917-7222689

Western Visayas RDRRMC: (033) 509-7919, 337-6671

3. Prepare supplies and disaster gear.

Have emergency supplies ready and have them ready to carry out in a small backpack so you can
have your hands free. These should include some nonperishable food, water or water purification
tablets or drops, first aid kit, flashlights and extra batteries. If safe drinking water is not available,
boil water for at least 20 minutes. Place it in a container with cover.

Don’t forget some basic toiletries and some disinfectant to keep yourself clean.

Have sturdy shoes ready to use when you have to evacuate. Don’t forget to seal important family
documents in plastic and carry them with you if you have to evacuate.

Make sure you have a small battery operated radio to be updated with the news because it is
highly possible that there will be a power outage during and after the storm. Bring it with you if
you have to evacuate.

4. Protect property.

Secure your property before a storm hits by trimming trees, securing roofs and covering
windows.

Examine your house and repair its unstable parts. Harvest crops that can be yielded already.
Secure domesticated animals in a safe place.

5. Obey evacuation orders.

Follow instructions from government officials on preemptive evacuation at all times. Move away
from low-lying areas and stay away from the coasts and riverbanks.

Evacuate calmly and as soon as possible. Do not wait for your situation to worsen before
evacuating. Close the windows and turn off the main power switch of your house. Put important
appliances and belongings in a high ground.
When evacuating, avoid the way leading to the river. For fisher folks, place boats in a safe area.

During

6. Secure yourselves.

Stay in a safe place. It is important to be aware which areas are prone to floods, landslides etc.
and which buildings are safe enough to withstand a typhoon. Do not go outside during the storm.

In case of a threat of a storm surge, evacuate in a high place early. If possible, find a place that is
higher than 500 meters from the bay if your community is in the direct track of the storm.

After

7. Continue to be alert.

Do not wade through floodwaters to avoid being electrocuted and contracting diseases. If your
house is destroyed, make sure that it is stable before you enter. Watch out for live wires or outlet
immersed in water. Report damaged electrical cables and fallen electric posts to the authorities.

Avoid going to disaster-hit areas so as not to get in the way of rescue and emergency operations.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/654917/tips-reminders-on-how-to-survive-typhoons-before-during-
after

12 ways to stay safe during a typhoon

Boiling water, sealing food in containers and washing your hands are simple ways to stay safe
and healthy at the height of a storm

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Typhoons and floods bring with them a spectrum of
health hazards, from electrocutions to snakebites, and from leptospirosis to food poisoning.

The Department of Health lists the following tips to help those experiencing the brunt of Super
Typhoon Yolanda (international codename Haiyan) stay safe.

1. Don't leave the house unless absolutely necessary. Children should be prohibited from playing
in the rain or flood to prevent contracting leptospirosis and other water-borne diseases.
2. With Yolanda's strong winds, those outdoors should watch out for flying objects or debris.
3. Do not use gas or electrical appliances that have been flooded.
4. Protect food and water from contaminants by keeping them in sealed containers. Food should
be well-cooked.
5. To ensure that water is safe for drinking, boil it for 3 minutes or chlorinate it.
6. Stay away from places that will likely be inundated by rising water or waves such as beaches
and riverbanks. Stay away from landslide-prone areas.
7. When evacuation is necessary, switch off your home's main power supply, place appliances
and belongings on higher locations and close windows before leaving.
8. Wear warm and dry clothing.
9. Consult a doctor immediately once you or any member of your household shows symptoms of
disease to prevent infecting others in the evacuation center. Common diseases or infections that
spread in evacuation centers are coughs and colds, acute gastroenteritis, skin and eye infections,
measles, dengue, leptospirosis and hepatitis A.
10. Properly dispose of all waste.
11. Wash your hands before and after eating and using the toilet.
12. Stay away from hanging wires and unstable structures (damaged houses, bridges, ports near
rough waters, etc).

Around P15 million worth of assorted drugs and medicines, medical supplies, water and
sanitation for health (WASH) kits, cot beds, family tents, and other emergency supplies are
available in DOH regional offices in areas being battered by super typhoon Yolanda, said Health
Secretary Enrique Ona on November 8, Friday.

These regional offices are Centers for Health Development VI (Western Visayas), VII (Central
Visayas), and VIII (Eastern Visayas) and the DOH Manila central office.

Code Blue has been activated in all regions, meaning medical personnel in the regional offices
will go on 24-hour duty. Ona also instructed hospitals to be on Code White, meaning their
response teams must be on standby. – Rappler.com

Scientific Explanation of Typhoons

By Deyanda Flint; Updated October 06, 2017

A typhoon is a tropical storm occurring especially in the region of the Philippines or the China
Sea. It is basically a cyclone originating from the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The storm’s areas
of activities expand from the north of equator to the west of International Date Line. Reportedly,
these basins receive the strongest cyclones. Though typhoons are not limited to any particular
season of the year, they form mostly between May and November.

Effects

Usually a typhoon is accompanied by heavy rainfalls and can generate a heavy wind up to 290
kilometers per hour. Its coverage area can expand up to 800 kilometers. Every year Japan
receives significant damage from such tropical storms. The rainfall caused by a typhoon can lead
to severe landslides and devastating tides.
Paths

Typhoons normally move along a looping track. These courses were identified by analyzing the
path records of typhoons formed between 1980 and 2005. There are three most common paths of
typhoons. The straight path is the westward path of typhoons across the Philippines, Taiwan,
Southern China and Vietnam. The recurving path of typhoons is the most devastating, inflicting
damage more than any other path. It lies across China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. Typhoons
sometimes follow a northward path from their origin, but only affect some small islands along
the path.

Hurricane and Typhoon

The terms “typhoon” and “hurricane” are two different names for the same type of tropical
system “cyclone.” These storms have a mass of air that spirals around a low pressure center more
than 74 mph. If they form in the Western hemisphere (North Atlantic), then they are called
hurricanes while in the Eastern hemisphere, they are given the name typhoon (Northwest Pacific
Ocean). These tropical disturbances are accompanied by rain, thunder and lightning.

Climatology

In the Northern Pacific, almost 90 percent of the typhoons originate from the Federated States of
Micronesia (FSM), also known as “Chuuk” (formerly Truk). The sea in that area is
comparatively shallow, which makes perfect condition for the birth of typhoons. According to
Saffir-Simpson scale, a typhoon sometimes can turn into a super-typhoon, when it crosses the
wind speed of 300 kilometers per hour.

Facts

A typhoon is formed when warm air and cold air collide together and then rotate in counter-
clockwise direction. They spin until the wind gets strong enough to form the typhoon. The eye of
a typhoon has clear skies and light winds. But outside the eye, strong winds spiral around and
these storms often bringing heavy precipitation. A typhoon can persist as long as two weeks or
even more over an open sea.

Everything you need to know about “super

typhoons”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/11/08/everything-you-need-to-know-
about-super-typhoons/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.8cbad62c49a9
One of the strongest tropical storms on record — Super Typhoon Haiyan — slammed into the
Philippines Friday morning, killing an estimated 2,000 people so far and forcing hundreds of
thousands to flee their homes. The storm is expected to hit Vietnam next.

Not a fun scene after Haiyan. (AP)

Our colleagues over at Capital Weather Gang have been doing a fantastic job covering this
incredibly large storm in all its destructiveness. So go there for detailed updates.

But below is a very basic overview of "super" typhoons, their horrible ways, and whether they're
really so unusual:

What is a typhoon?

It's basically the same thing as a hurricane. Both are tropical cyclones — rapidly rotating storms
that typically form in warm tropical waters and feature low pressure centers, high winds, and lots
of rain.

If the storm originates in the Atlantic or Northeast Pacific, we call them "hurricanes." If they
form in the Northwest Pacific, they're called "typhoons." Elsewhere, they're called "cyclones."
But they're all the same thing. Big tropical storms.

What makes a typhoon a "super typhoon"?

That's the term that weather agencies use for particularly severe tropical cyclones, although the
precise definition can vary from country to country.

The U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center deems a typhoon "super" when the wind speed
reaches 130 knots, or 150 miles per hour. That's roughly equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane —
again, it's a really, really massive storm.

So how intense is Super Typhoon Haiyan?

Pretty intense. Before hitting land on Friday, the storm's winds reached estimated sustained
speeds of 195 miles per hour, with gusts rising above 220 miles per hour. Those are some of the
highest wind speeds ever recorded. Here's what the storm looked like from space:

Is Haiyan the strongest tropical storm ever?

Possibly, although it's hard to tell for certain. As Nate Cohn explains, the most precise way to
measure a tropical cyclone's intensity is to fly surveillance aircraft into the eye of the storm and
drop instruments to measure wind speed and air pressure. Those aircraft aren't available in this
case. Instead, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center is using satellite estimates to track Haiyan.

Those measurements suggest that Haiyan may end up being one of the most intense storms of the
satellite era. Indeed, before making landfall, the storm appeared to be approaching the top end of
the intensity scale for tropical cyclones — about as intense a storm as is physically possible.

At its peak, Haiyan appeared to be more intense than Katrina, albeit covering a smaller area:

Is Haiyan the strongest tropical storm ever?

Possibly, although it's hard to tell for certain. As Nate Cohn explains, the most precise way to
measure a tropical cyclone's intensity is to fly surveillance aircraft into the eye of the storm and
drop instruments to measure wind speed and air pressure. Those aircraft aren't available in this
case. Instead, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center is using satellite estimates to track Haiyan.

Those measurements suggest that Haiyan may end up being one of the most intense storms of the
satellite era. Indeed, before making landfall, the storm appeared to be approaching the top end of
the intensity scale for tropical cyclones — about as intense a storm as is physically possible.

At its peak, Haiyan appeared to be more intense than Katrina, albeit covering a smaller area:

The authors of that paper, Jessica Weinkle, Ryan Maue, and Roger Pielke Jr., note that the
economic damage from tropical cyclones does appear to be increasing worldwide. But this may
be a function of people building more buildings in areas prone to hurricanes and typhoons, rather
than an uptick in storm intensity or frequency.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) came to a similar conclusion in its
recent report: As best anyone can tell, tropical storms aren't getting any more or less frequent
worldwide: "Current datasets indicate no significant observed trends in global tropical cyclone
frequency over the past century and it remains uncertain whether any reported long-term
increases in tropical cyclone frequency are robust."

The IPCC adds that there has been a marked increase in intensity for the very strongest tropical
cyclones in the North Atlantic since the 1970s, but it's unclear what's causing this. And there's
less data to indicate a change in cyclone intensity elsewhere in the world. It might be happening
— here's one 2008 study suggesting that the strongest typhoons in the northwest Pacific may be
getting stronger — but it's difficult to say for sure.

Could global warming make tropical cyclones more destructive?

Yes — though with caveats. It's still not entirely clear what effect climate change will have on
the tropical cyclones themselves. The latest IPCC report said it was "likely" that tropical
cyclones around the world would get stronger as the oceans heat up, with faster winds and
heavier rainfall. But the overall number of hurricanes in many basins was likely to "either
decrease or remain essentially unchanged." (Here's a longer discussion of this topic.)

There is, however, an important asterisk here: Climate scientists are much more confident that
sea levels will keep rising as the oceans warm and glaciers and ice caps melt. And that will
escalate the risk of storm surges when tropical cyclones do hit, particularly in low-lying areas.
That alone will make storms more destructive, even if the number stays the same.

What sites should I be reading if I want to stay on top of super typhoon news?

--Definitely our colleagues at Capital Weather Gang.

--Climate Central has consistently excellent coverage.

--So does Jeff Masters at Weather Underground.

--Ryan Maue's website has some excellent data on trends in global tropical cyclone activity.

Hurricane Season

The Atlantic hurricane season is six months long, running from June 1 to November 30, with the
peak period from early August through the end of October. Hurricanes tend to happen in states
that lie along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, as well as Mexico and the Caribbean.

Concerned about traveling to these destinations during hurricane season? Statistically, there is a
very low risk that a storm will impact your vacation. A typical hurricane season will bring 12
tropical storms with sustained winds of 39 mph, of which six will turn into hurricanes and three
become major hurricanes in Category 3 or higher.
Tropical Storms vs. Hurricanes

Tropical Depression: Wind Speed below 39 mph. When a low-pressure area accompanied by
thunderstorms produces a circular wind flow with winds below 39 mph. Most tropical
depressions have maximum sustained winds between 25 and 35 mph.

Tropical Storm: Wind Speed of 39 to 73 mph. When storms have wind speeds over 39 mph,
they are then named.

Hurricane Categories 1 Through 5

When a storm registers sustained winds of at least 74 miles per hour, it is classified as a
hurricane. This is a massive storm system that forms over water and moves toward land. The
main threats from hurricanes include high winds, heavy rainfall, and flooding in coastal and
inland areas.

In other parts of the world, these large storms are called typhoons and cyclones.

Hurricanes are ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 using the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
(SSHWS). Category 1 and 2 hurricanes can cause damage and injuries to people and animals.
With wind speeds of 111 miles per hour or higher, Category 3, 4, and 5 hurricanes are considered
major storms.

Category 1: Wind Speed of 74 to 95 mph. Expect minor damage to property due to flying
debris. Generally, during a Category 1 storm, most glass windows will remain intact. There may
be short-term power outages due to snapped power lines or fallen trees.

Category 2: Wind Speed of 96 to 110 mph. Expect more extensive property damage, including
potential damage to roofing, siding, and glass windows. Flooding can be a major danger in the
low-lying areas. Expect widespread power outages that may continue for a few days to a few
weeks.

Category 3: Wind Speed of 111 to 130 mph. Expect significant property damage. Mobile and
poorly constructed frame homes may be destroyed, and even well-built frame homes may sustain
major damage. Extensive inland flooding often comes with a Category 3 storm. Power outages
and water shortages can be expected after a storm of this magnitude.

Category 4: Wind Speed of 131 to 155 mph. Expect some catastrophic damage to property,
including mobile homes and frame homes. Category 4 hurricanes often bring flooding and long-
term power outages and water shortages.

Category 5: Wind Speed over 156 mph. The area will certainly be under an evacuation order.
Expect catastrophic damage to property, humans, and animals and complete destruction of
mobile homes, frame homes. Nearly all the trees in the area will be uprooted. Category 5
hurricanes bring long-term power outages and water shortages, and regions may be inhabitable
for weeks or months.
Tracking and Evacuation

Thankfully, hurricanes can be detected and tracked well in advance of making landfall. People
who are in the storm’s path often get several days of advance notice.

When a hurricane threatens your area, it's important to stay aware of weather forecasts, either on
TV, the radio or with a hurricane warning app. Heed evacuation orders. If you are staying in a
coastal area or an area with low-lying grounds, keep in mind that a major danger is localized
flooding.
 Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education

Region IV-A CALABARZON

Division of Laguna

District of Pila

San Antonio de Padua College

CULMINATING ACTIVITY
(A Proposal)

In partial fulfillment for the requirements in the subjects:

Understanding Culture, Society, and Politics; and

Media and Information Literacy

Group 1

STEM – A
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Activities