Twin typhoons costliest in over six decades

The twin typhoons that recently hit the Philippines were the costliest storms recorded in more than six decades, cutting economic growth by 0.4 percentage point in the second half of the year, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board.

In its report “The Devastation of Ondoy and Pepeng,” Romulo Virola, the secretary general of the statistical board, on Tuesday said that the combined costs of damage brought about by the two tropical cyclones reached P38 billion (a little over P11 billion from Ondoy and P27 billion from Pepeng).

Virola said that Ondoy and Pepeng have unseated typhoons Ruping and Rosing as the two costliest tropical cyclones in the Philippines, with Pepeng, by far, the worst.

Virola said total damage from Ruping amounted to P10.85 billion, and from Rosing, P10.83 billion.

Of the total P38 billion, damage to infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, flood-control structures, health centers and schools, was estimated by the National Disaster Coordinating Council at P11.1 billion.

Damage to agricultural crops, livestocks, fisheries and agricultural facilities, according to the council, was placed at P27.2 billion.

With P23.6-billion damage to agriculture and fisheries as of November 5, Virola said that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in nominal terms may be reduced by 0.2 percentage point in the third quarter and 0.6 percentage point in the fourth quarter.

An indicator of economic performance, GDP is the amount of final goods and services produced in a country in a year.

For the second half of 2009, Virola said that the impact of the two typhoons on GDP was estimated at 0.4percentage point.

This means, the 0.8 percent to 1.8 percent GDP target for the year will be cut between 0.4 percent and 1.4 percent.

Besides the economic impact, Virola said that extreme effects of the two tropical cyclones were deaths from massive flooding and landslides brought about by continuous rain.

He added that Ondoy flooded Metro Manila and nearby provinces while Pepeng flooded most parts of Northern Luzon, specifically the province of Pangasinan.

The statistical board said that Ondoy and Pepeng left almost a thousand deaths with 84 persons still missing.

Virola, however, said, “If we go by historical averages, we do not expect any more Ondoys or Pepengs for the rest of the Year of the Ox. But then, with climate change . . . “

Historically, from 1948 to 2005, July was the “favorite” month of tropical cyclones to enter the Philippine with 204 tropical cyclones, of which 96 were typhoons.

It was followed by August, 193 tropical cyclones (88 typhoons); September, 185 tropical cyclones (95 typhoons); October, 157 tropical cyclones (96 typhoons); and November, 131 tropical cyclonez (70 typhoons).

A cyclone is a storm or a system of winds that rotates about a center of low atmospheric pressure, advances at a speed of 20 to 30 miles (about 30 to 50 kilometers) and hour and often brings heavy rain.
A typhoon is a tropical cyclone occurring in the Philippines or the China Sea.

The statistical board said that September 26 to October 31, 2009 was among the toughest for Filipinos as tropical cyclones visited the Philippines one after another. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER, Manila Times