NASA's point of view behind the Sendong disaster

Courtesy of NASA-JAXA TRMM

The tropical storm "Sendong" (storm Washi) is believed to have been caused by a combination of poor warnings, deforestation, and weak construction in southern Philippine areas hit by the storm.

This was the assessment made by a joint US-Japanese scientific project that also measured the amount of rainfall dumped by the tropical storm in the Visayas and Mindanao.

The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or simply TRMM, a joint project between the US National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), said Sendong dumped as much as more than 400 millimeters of rainwater over Mindanao's northwest coast.

"It was here in places like Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City that the most devastating mudslides occurred," the TRRM report said.

It added that most of the heavy rain was reported to have fallen over the mountains before flowing down in raging rivers.

In comparison to Sendong, storm Ondoy, the storm that also caused massive floods in the Philippines back in 2009, dumped around 459mm of rainfall in Metro Manila when it hit the metropolis, according to measurements taken by state weather bureau PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration).

PAGASA gets flak

PAGASA has received flak for its alleged failure to give proper warnings to communities in Sendong's track, including an allegation made by weather bloggers that the weather bureau announced to the public that a storm was headed in less than 24 hours before its forecast landfall.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council's (NDRRMC) first public advisory on Sendong, which was issued 11 a.m. on December 15, also showed a PAGASA tracking map stating that the storm won't hit Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro.

The next NDRRMC severe weather bulletin issued 5 p.m. of the same day showed a revised PAGASA tracking map, with the two cities on the storm's path.

PAGASA also raised storm warnings the same afternoon.

The storm made landfall mid-afternoon the following day, then struck Malaybalay before devastating Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in the middle of the night.

The resulting flashflood has killed 976 people, as of latest NDRRMC count on Wednesday morning. Dozens remain missing, while damage to properties is approaching P1 billion.

Storm Warnings

The Palace and the NDRRMC have cleared PAGASA of any fault, saying the agency gave warnings even days before the storm stuck.

Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Undersecretary Manuel L. Quezon III showed the media copies of SMS advisories on the storm that PAGASA sent to Malacañang.

"We have been getting updates since December 14 via text," he said.

One SMS sent to the Palace on 12:46 p.m. of December 14 by senior PAGASA official Robert Sawi said: "The tropical depression over the Pacific is estimated at 1,480 km E of Mindanao with maximum winds of 55 kph. It is moving west at 19 kph and is expected to enter PAR by tomorrow morning. It will start affecting Visayas and Mindanao on Friday. This may trigger floods and landslides. Please take all the necessary precautionary measures. FYI. TY."

The SMS advisories, however, did not contain information on the storm's rainfall amount.

PAGASA continued to relay to the Palace its updates on the storm.

Quezon said the same weather alerts were sent to the NDRRMC, the Philippine Information Agency, and the Radyo ng Bayan (National Radio).

"As I was told in Butuan, many PIA regional offices work with Radyo ng Bayan to send alerts and do SMS alerts too," he said.

Quezon said the Palace is preparing a comprehensive timeline on the disaster.

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Aquino orders new ARMM chief to 'Stop illegal logging'

President Benigno Aquino III and Mujiv Hataman,
Malacañang, Republic of the Philippines.

Iligan City, Philippines - President Aquino has ordered newly appointed Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) officer-in-charge Mujiv Hataman to stop illegal logging in the provinces under his jurisdiction.

Mr. Aquino revealed his order on Tuesday before more than a hundred Iligan City residents that gathered in a high school gym to meet him in the aftermath of the devastation brought by Tropical Storm Sendong.

President Aquino said stopping illegal logging would prevent flashfloods that killed hundreds in Mindanao over the past weekend.

In a command conference earlier on Tuesday morning in Cagayan de Oro, President Aquino said he has formed a fact-finding team that would look into ways how to improve the existing systems and prevent a repeat of the huge amount of deaths caused by Sendong.

Hataman imposes log ban in ARMM

The newly appointed Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, ordered a total ban on logging in the region, heeding the first instruction that he received from President Benigno Aquino III.

Hataman said in a phone interview that his administration would cancel and review all permits to log issued by previous administrations in the region.

Holders of logging permits in ARMM would have to reapply but Hataman said he doubted any permit to log would be issued during his 17-month term as officer in charge.

Hataman said his priority was to advance "greening" programs that would bring back to life denuded forests in ARMM.

Mr. Aquino gave the instruction to Hataman after seeing for himself the destruction in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities brought by Tropical Storm 'Sendong' but which was believed to have been aggravated by the effects of logging.

Previous bans

The President announced the war on logging before, at least 100 residents of Iligan gathered in a school gym during his visit to the city.

A ban on logging, however, was not new in ARMM.

In March last year, ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo said Ansaruddin Adiong, then acting governor, had all logging permits canceled in Maguindanao, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Lanao del Sur.

Adiong gave the order after environment officials noted a sharp decline in the region's forest cover to just more than 50,000 hectares.

Four years before Adiong, former Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan also banned logging in ARMM. Ampatuan is now in jail for the 2009 massacre of at least 58 people in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

In March 2006, Ampatuan declared a total logging ban and the announcement was made by Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, then ARMM solicitor general.

Ampatuan also stripped the regional environment office of authority to issue logging permits and timber licenses under Regional Memorandum Order No. 135.

"All shipments of logs from any part of the ARMM to any destination, whether in other parts of Mindanao, in the Visayas and Luzon are now prohibited. Violators will be dealt with accordingly," Guiani-Sayadi had said at that time.

The order has not been amended.

On a recent aerial survey conducted by the authorities, the logs that came along with the flashflood came from Lanao del Sur. The authorities found some lumber yards in the area, numerous logs scattered by the flood, and deforested portions of mountains, which is believed to have aggravated the disaster.

Carabao Logging

On the same day Mr. Aquino ordered him to stop illegal logging in the ARMM, Hataman said among the activities he would stop is carabao logging, so called because loggers use carabaos to transport their haul out of the forests.

"I was informed by Task Force Ranao commander Col. (Daniel) Lucero that the deluge (in Iligan City) came down from the mountains of Lanao because there are no more trees. The waters easily flowed toward rivers. Somebody must answer for this," said Hataman.

Survivors have reported seeing people smashed to death by logs during floods brought by Sendong in Iligan City, which lies below the mountains of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte.

The day after the floods, hundreds of timber lay along the beaches and river banks of Iligan and nearby areas.

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