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Opinion

World's strongest typhoon for 2014?

PERSPECTIVE - Cherry Piquero Ballescas - The Freeman

You must have seen the photo on FB of "Super typhoon  Vongfang?”

"I've seen many from here, but none like this."  According to Astronaut Reid Wiseman who commented about the photo from the International Space Station.

Barely recovered from typhoon 18, Japan is now bracing for the arrival of this year's forecasted world's strongest storm ever for 2014.

While Friday, October 10th weather reports showed the slight weakening of typhoon Vongfang, it is still considered a superstorm and everyone in Japan has been asked to take all necessary precautions, especially from landslides.

Gratefully, there have been no alerts yet versus the deadly storm surge that accompanied the 2013 deadliest, strongest typhoon that hit Leyte and other provinces in the Philippines. Gratefully, there are so many joining us all in prayers for this latest, strongest storm to spare all in Japan. Thank you all for your care and prayers!

All the way from Europe, Val Samson, our physicist scholar who hails from Leyte, sent this FB message: "Please keep safe to all my dear friends in Japan, especially the Pinoy students – please stock on water, rice, canned goods/ready-to-eat items, tissue paper, charge your cellphones, and have flashlights or emergency lights. The typhoon is forecast to be as huge as Haiyan or even stronger. Stay indoors but stay away from your glass windows. Winds as strong as Haiyan can easily break glass windows. Keep safe everyone."

Val also noted that these super typhoons are the new norm because of the increase in sea surface temperature in waters of the Pacific Ocean which is the energy of these typhoons. Val emphasized – "Global warming, climate change. Very sad indeed. Unless we change, adopting actions that will stop or slow down global warming, this and Haiyan might not be the strongest we'll experience."

Sadder still because "global warming, climate change are still not completely accepted as truly dangerous and significant even by the UN," an FB friend of Val commented.

Together with prayers and preparations for this strongest storm ever, let us all also remember to do our share against global warming NOW na please.

Related to this forecasted strongest storm, prayers have been pouring in through FB and other communication means.  Alerts are also being posted like this one from the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo:

Paalala sa lahat ng mamamayang pilipino sa Japan, Posted on October 8, 2014:

"Ang lahat ng mamamayang Pilipino sa Japan ay pinaaalalahanang may malakas na bagyo (codename Vongfong) sa Japan at mga karatig na lugar at karagatan sa mga susunod na araw. Ito po ang sinasabing pinakamalakas na bagyo sa taong 2014. Pinapayuhan ang lahat na maghanda, maging mapagmatyag sa pananalasa ng bagyo, at makinig sa mga ulat at mga babala ng lokal at nasyonal na pamahalaan.

Bigyang pansin at tumalima sa lahat ng paalala ng mga awtoridad at sundin ang kanilang mga direktiba at gabay. Manatili po tayong mapagmatyag at handa upang maiwasan ang pinsala na dala ng bagyo."

"Bisitahin po ang website ng inyong kinatitirahang Prefecture at ang website ng Japan Meteorological Agency (http://www.jma.go.jp/en/typh/)." Emergency Hotlines:

Philippine Embassy, Tokyo: 080-4928-7979 Philippine Consulate General, Osaka: 090-4036-7984, and Philippine Honorary Consulate General, Naha City, Okinawa: 098-892-5486.

Please help pass on this important embassy alert to all your friends in Japan and kindly ask them also to regularly check the Philippine Embassy website for more updates related to this forecasted strongest storm, so everyone is safe and protected: http://tokyo.philembassy.net/events/paalala-sa-lahat-ng-mamamayang-pilipino-sa-japan-2//.

A festival for Mama Mary has been scheduled and prepared for by hundreds of Filipinos on Sunday, the 12th of October at Mito Church in Ibaraki Prefecture. Everyone here is joining hands together in prayer that God, according to His will and grace, will bless all and spare Japan from this storm and allow for good, safe weather for this special fiesta for Mama Mary.

May this strongest storm dissipate. May all stay safe and be protected too! And thank you all again for your prayers and concern.

[email protected]

ASTRONAUT REID WISEMAN

EMERGENCY HOTLINES

HAIYAN

IBARAKI PREFECTURE

JAPAN

MAMA MARY

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY

STORM

STRONGEST

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