PAGASA retires 8 tropical cyclone names from 2024

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Wednesday announced that it would retire eight domestic names of tropical cyclones following their destructive impact in the country in 2024.

The state weather bureau will decommission the following names that were used for the tropical cyclones that occurred within the Philippine Area of Responsibility:

• Aghon
• Enteng 
• Julian 
• Kristine 
• Leon
• Nika
• Ofel 
• Pepito 

“This made 2024 the year with the most number of decommissioned names since the present naming scheme began in 2001,” said PAGASA in a statement. 

PAGASA explained that a domestic name is decommissioned if the tropical cyclone resulted in at least 300 individuals or caused damages to houses, agriculture, and infrastructures amounting to at least P1 billion per the Office of the Civil Defense’s official reports. 

“However, due to the compounding impacts brought about by the successive typhoon passages during the last quarter of 2024, the names of all tropical cyclones that directly contributed to the compounding impacts were also decommissioned from the list,” PAGASA added.

Several names, including Yolanda, Goring, Pablo, Sendong, and Egay, had been retired by PAGASA before. Replacement names were then produced, and they will be used every four years.

Further, the new names to be retired from 2024 will be replaced with the following: Amuyao, Edring, Josefa, Kidul, Lekep, Nanolay, Onos, and Puwok. These names will be used beginning on January 1, 2028. –NB, GMA Integrated News