LOOK: PAGASA's simplified warning system

Published March 31, 2015 7:38pm

Last week, PAGASA launched its so-called simplified information system, with help from the United States Agency for International Development.

The US Embassy on Tuesday said that at last weekl's event, PAGASA announced new tools and information products under its "Payong PAGASA," including the USAID-supported "simplified templates for public dissemination of PAGASA materials."

With help from USAID’s Water Security for Resilient Economic Growth and Stability, PAGASA redesigned its forecast and storm alert announcements, and launched its official mascot Ella the Umbrella.

Warning systems

The Department of Science and Technology, which supervises PAGASA, announced a new color-coded warning system that includes:

Green: no threat of storm surge
Yellow: possible storm surge of of 0.5 to 1 meters
Orange: storm surge of 1 to 3 meters is expected. All marine activities must be canceled and evacuation must be carried out
Red: a coming storm surge greater than 3 meters that can cause severe damage to coastal and marine infrastructure. Communities need to be evacuated

PAGASA hydrometeorology OIC Ma. Cecilia Monteverde said green and yellow storm surge warnings will be incorporated into PAGASA’s severe weather bulletins.

But in case of an orange or red storm surge warning, PAGASA will issue separate bulletins four times a day.

For cyclones, PAGASA now includes the super typhoon category in its public storm signal warnings. The new cyclone classification system includes:

Tropical Depression: maximum sustained winds of 61 kph
Tropical Storm: wind speeds of 62-117 kph
Typhoon: 118-220 kph
Super Typhoon: maximum sustained winds of more than 220 kph.

— Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News

Tags: weather, pagasa, stormwarning, stormsurge, multimedia