Public told to store water

CEBU, Philippines — The public are advised to store water while it still rains.

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has forecasted that Cebu and other areas in the Visayas region is expected to receive below of the average rainfall amount it usually accumulates all throughout the month.

PAGASA-Visayas weather specialist Romeo Aguirre said several rain events greeted the first week of September, but the succeeding days and weeks will be drier than the usual.

According to recent forecast, he said rainfall conditions over Visayas will be generally below normal as compared to Luzon and Mindanao that will experience near normal rainfall conditions.

This means, he explained, that Visayas will only receive 40 to 80 percent of the normal rainfall amount, which is 192.1 millimeters, expected every September.

Aguirre said Visayas may only get an amount between 77 millimeters and 154 millimeters.

In the first six days, he said, PAGASA recorded three rainy days this month – on September 1, 5 and 6.

He said during these days, rains occurred in Metro Cebu as Southwest monsoon (or Habagat) was enhanced due to the presence of low pressure areas.

He, however, said Metro Cebu only registered four millimeters of actual rain this month based from the Mactan-mounted rain gauge.

Aguirre said households should wisely make use of water in their daily consumption because there are higher probabilities in the recent forecast that an El Niño event will develop this year.

PAGASA earlier reported that there is 65 percent chance that an El Niño phenomenon will develop in the tropical Pacific on the last quarter of 2018. If this event indeed develops, dry spell is seen in the first quarter of 2019.

Aguirre said the effects of a developing El Niño will slowly be felt in the succeeding weeks wherein there will be lesser rains and more dry days.

He said the public should never be complacent and should heed the advice of conserving water since no one knows yet until when this event would last and how strong the El Niño would be.

He added that the local government units as well should plan ahead on what measures and actions to carry out so as to mitigate the adverse impact of a possible El Niño like the scarcity of water. (FREEMAN)