UNDERSTANDING

TYPHOONS
Philippine Atmospheric,
Geophysical, and
Astronomical Services
Administration
(PAGASA)
20 tropical cyclones hit
the Philippine Area of
Responsibility (PAR)
 KNOW
AND
PREVENT
What is a TYPHOON?

An extremely large,

powerful, and destructive
storm that occurs especially
in the region of the
Philippines or the China Sea
 We hear
weathercasters talk about
typhoons, hurricanes and cyclones
– so what’s the difference?
A.Typhoons are bigger than cyclones;
cyclones are bigger than hurricanes.
B.Hurricanes are stronger than typhoons
and cyclones.
C.Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones occur
in different geographical areas.
 The correct answer is c.

Typhoons, cyclones and

hurricanes are the same
weather phenomenon – the
difference is the
geographical area where
they occur. They are tropical
cyclones with regionally
specific names.
WHAT CAN YOU SAY?
Describe the picture…
Moves in a certain direction
Goes around a central area
Clouds are in a spiral
arrangement
Clouds are blown by winds in
a counter-clockwise direction
TROPICAL CYCLONE
CATEGORIES
MAXIMUM WIND SPEED
CATEGORY KILOMETERS PER HOUR
(kph)

Tropical Depression 35 - 64 kph

Tropical Storm 65 - 118 kph

Typhoon 119 - 200 kph

Supertyphoon Greater than 200

A tropical cyclone is
a system of
thunderstorms that
are moving around
a center.
As the winds intensify or
weaken, the category is
upgraded or downgraded
accordingly.
 TYPHOON HURRICANE
northwestern northeastern
part of the part of the
Pacific Ocean Pacific Ocean
and in the
northern part
of the Atlantic
Ocean
BAGYO
PHILIPPINE AREA OF
RESPONSIBILITY
(PAR)
Is an area in the Northwestern
Pacific where PAGASA, the
Philippines’ national
meteorological agency monitors
weather occurences.