Pagasa to conduct remapping of storm surge-prone areas

MANILA, Philippines - A remapping of storm surge-prone areas will be done to prevent another Yolanda-like devastation.

Esperanza Cayanan, Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Regional Services Division-National Capital Region officer-in-charge, said they are updating hazard maps on flood and storm surges.

PAGASA will also strengthen the information and education campaigns on storm surge in local governments, she added.

In 2007, PAGASA released inundation maps for Leyte province, one of the areas most badly damaged by the storm surges of Yolanda.

The inundation map was designed in a worst case scenario showing the coastal barangays of Leyte vulnerable to a high level of storm surges ranging from three to six meters.

Yolanda generated giant waves as high as seven meters when it made landfall over Eastern Visayas last month.

More than 6,000 people were killed and over 1,700 are missing.

Meanwhile, Cayanan said PAGASA incurred P74.24 million in damage to weather stations and equipment, including a P30-million meteorological buoy installed in Bantayan Island, Cebu.

It will likewise work on the establishment of an all-weather communication system for government officials to be reached all the time, especially during calamities, she added.