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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Storm 'Sendong' death toll rises to more than 650

A father loses his child to the Tropical Storm 'Sendong'.

Philippines - The tropical storm 'Sendong', the 19th storm to hit the Philippines, has left the country and moves toward the West Philippine Sea via Palawan, but not without causing considerable damage and fatalities.

According to Philippine Red Cross, the death toll from the mammoth floods unleashed in the Philippines by tropical storm "Sendong" (international name: Washi) has climbed to more than 650.

Data from its official Twitter account shows the death toll as of 6:00 p.m. Sunday, already at 652, and may still rise.

This is higher than government figures. As of 12:00 p.m., the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported 332 dead.

PNRC (Philippine National Red Cross) Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang told ANC at least 8,000 families have been affected, with Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City accounting for most of the numbers.

"The affected area is so wide and huge and I believe they have not really gone to all areas to do a search. Also... many of the houses were washed out so that means the houses and the bodies were displaced," Pang said in a separate Agence France Presse (AFP) article.

"We are only counting the actual dead bodies that were sent to funeral parlors," she told AFP, warning many more bodies could still be found.

"This thing happened so fast, it was very overwhelming. It happened in the evening when people were sleeping," said Pang.

"People were saying they were really unprepared. They didn't know it would hit them to this extent," she said.

Fortunately, the waters receded quickly, in contrast to floods in the northern Philippines, which can last for weeks or even months, said Pang.

Aerial view shows what's left of the once populous Sitio (Site)
Kala Kala in Barangay Makasandig, Cagayan de Oro City.
Credit: Erwin Mascarinas, Interaksyon.com

Almost 35,000 people remained huddles in evacuation centers after the storm, the NDRRMC said.

Rescue and relief efforts were hampered by power outages in many areas as well as by damaged and destroyed bridges, the council added.

Pang fears health risks in the aftermath of the storm, especially affecting those in the evacuation centers. The residents may be prone to common colds, cough and diarrhea, she added.

She said water filtration systems will be set up in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, through the help of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

An average of 20 storms and typhoons, many of them deadly, hit the Philippines annually.

However, most of the storms strike the northern regions. The southern areas are usually spared so people in the south were unprepared for Sendong's fury,government relief officials said.

Sendong, which crossed Mindanao and some central islands on Saturday, hit the western island of Palawan before dawn Sunday and has continued moving west into the South China Sea, the government weather station said.

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