Doppler radar also destroyed

MANILA, Philippines - Typhoon Yolanda has destroyed the country’s first line of defense against severe weather disturbances even as weathermen expect one or two more storms in the coming weeks.

Oscar Tabada, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) director in the Visayas, told The STAR the destruction of the P450-million Doppler radar in Guiuan, Eastern Samar has made the country’s eastern section blind to incoming typhoons.

“The Guiuan Doppler is important,” he said in Filipino. “We have to fix it at the earliest possible time as typhoons are headed toward the Visayas.”

Tabada said the Guiuan radar was designed to withstand strong typhoons with winds up to 500 kilometers per hour.

“It is the first line of defense for Southern Luzon and Visayas communities against storms,” he said.

Guiuan was chosen as the location of the radar as it faces the Pacific Ocean, he added.

Tabada said PAGASA engineers are still assessing the damage to the radar. The dome, a spherical shell that encloses a radar device, was blown from the tower at the height of Yolanda.

“As of this time we are not receiving data from our Guiuan station,” he said. The stations in Coron, Palawan and Tacloban, Leyte are also “totally down,” he added.

Tabada said the repair of the radar might take months, and that the Japanese supplier had been informed and a team of experts is set to arrive to help assess the damage. 

The PAGASA station in Guiuan, including the equipment, costs around P100 million, he added.

Tabada said they are repairing the rain gauges in the areas that Yolanda had devastated as rainfall data are vital in regular weather forecasts.

“We can only have rainfall data from these areas for now but not for wind,” he said.

Tabada said the forecasters could use the data transmitted by Doppler radars in nearby areas, particularly Cebu and Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur.

Satellite data from foreign meteorological agencies could also be used, he added.

Tabada said PAGASA would relocate its station in Tacloban City that huge waves from Yolanda had wiped out.