The Philippines will is expected to be hit by a stronger typhoon this year due to El Nino as warming ocean surfaces contribute to a dry spell, the state weather bureau PAGASA warned on Wednesday. The country whipped by 20 at least 20 typhoons and storms each year, which is now in the grips of the “El Nino.”
PAGASA warned that El Nino can make storms “stronger” and more “erratic,” as noted by weather service chief Vicente Malano said. He was quoted as saying “El Nino may cause the behavior of tropical cyclones to become erratic, affecting (their) tracks and intensity,” he said in an advisory.” he said.
The country’s weather bureau noted further that the tropical cyclone tracks are expected to shift northward and their intensity could become stronger.
During the later part of the year 2013, super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), considered as the strongest ever to hit land, devastated the central part of the Philippines leaving more than 7,350 people dead or missing as it dumped tsunami-like waves on coastlines, wiping out entire towns.
Meanwhile the possible stronger typhoon is expeted to hit the country this year due to El Nino. The weather phenomena refers to the abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the eastern tropical sections of the Pacific Ocean every three to five years.
The weather bureau said it began observing the El Nino last December, which leads to drier-than-average conditions on one side of the Pacific and wetter ones on the opposite coast.
