EDITORIAL - That's better

Perhaps memories of typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” were still fresh, and people didn’t want to take chances. In the case of public officials, perhaps memories of Prisco Nilo were still fresh, and no one wanted to lose his job. As storm trackers warned, Typhoon “Juan” lashed Northern Luzon starting yesterday morning. The nation was clearly better prepared for the disaster.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration got its job right this time, and no meteorologist went the way of Nilo, who bore the brunt of President Aquino’s ire when the weather bureau botched its forecast for Typhoon “Basyang” earlier this year. Perhaps PAGASA has learned, like many Filipinos, to countercheck its forecasts with those of foreign weather tracking agencies, which accurately predicted that Basyang would change course and strike Metro Manila.

Counterchecking is good, but PAGASA can do a better job if it gets an equipment upgrade. Forecasters warned the public to brace for the powerful winds of Juan, which did not bring the kind of heavy rainfall that could trigger Ondoy-type cataclysmic floods. PAGASA needs more Doppler radars to improve its capability to accurately track the amount of rainfall that can be triggered by an approaching typhoon.

After the fate that befell Nilo, and the relocation of former PAGASA spokesman Nathaniel Cruz to Australia, the government may also have to dangle incentives to young Filipinos to pursue a career in meteorology, or else PAGASA may one day have to close shop for lack of weather experts.

Overall, because of the timely warning, disaster relief agencies and local governments were better prepared for Juan. Some crops were saved from destruction and livestock taken to safe grounds. Health personnel were on standby for emergencies. Supervisors of dams and power plants were on alert for contingencies. This should be the standard for future disaster response.