Kanor to Karding: Pagasa censors name of cyclone

MANILA, Philippines - There’s something about a brewing tropical cyclone that is worrying weathermen – its name.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced it has changed the local codename for an approaching tropical cyclone to Karding from Kanor.

Rene Paciente, PAGASA senior weather forecaster, said they decided last Tuesday to drop Kanor after getting negative feedback from the public.

“Mang Kanor” is believed to be the man in a sex video that went viral a few years ago.

“We don’t want to use the name anymore because it may create negative thoughts,” Paciente said.

Netizens reacted with amusement – and amazement – to PAGASA’s naming the coming weather disturbance Kanor.

Normally, only the names of deadly and destructive typhoons are stricken off the list.

Kanor replaced the name Katring, a destructive cyclone that hit the country in 2010.

Meanwhile, a low-pressure area, which is expected to intensify into tropical cyclone tomorrow, entered the Philippine area of responsibility yesterday.

The low-pressure area was estimated at 1,020 kilometers east of northern Mindanao as of 10 a.m. yesterday.

He said the disturbance is not expected to directly affect the country as it will move northward toward southern Japan this weekend.

He said the trough of the storm, however, may bring light to occasionally moderate rains over Luzon.

Paciente said another low-pressure area, located 280 km east of Baler, Aurora at 10 a.m. yesterday, will continue to bring light to moderate rains and thunderstorms over Metro Manila, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Mimaropa, Calabarzon, Bicol region and the Visayas until today. The low-pressure area is likely to dissipate today, Paciente said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), for its part, alerted three regions to possible flooding.

The NDRRMC said rains may affect the waters in and around the Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Davao regions.

Western Visayas provinces that may be affected by inclement weather are Iloilo, Antique, Capiz and Aklan.

Bodies of water like rivers and streams in Southern Leyte, Leyte, Eastern Samar, Samar and Northern Samar may also rise due to light to moderate rains.

NDRRMC said the low-pressure area may also affect rivers and tributaries in Davao del Sur.

“People living near the mountain slopes and in the low-lying areas of the above mentioned river systems and the local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils are advised to be alert,” the NDRRMC said. – Alexis Romero