131 cities and towns in the Philippines warned of natural disasters

Manila [Philippines], May 1: According to Philstar on May 1, these areas include 7 provinces whose entire territory is in a state of natural disaster , which are Occidental Mindoro, Antique, Sultan Kudarat, Basilan, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte and South Cotabato.
Mr. Joey Villarama, spokesperson of the El Nino Task Force and assistant secretary of the Office of Communications of the President of the Philippines, said: "According to the latest update from the Philippine Department of Civil Defense, 131 cities and towns The town has declared a state of natural disaster. These areas are spread across the country."
Mr. Villarama said the impact of the El Nino phenomenon on 131 cities and towns in the Philippines is different and currently 41 areas are suffering from drought . An area is in drought if it experiences five consecutive months of below-normal rainfall or a 21% to 60% decrease in average rainfall. Some areas affected by the dry spell were identified as having three consecutive months of below-average rainfall or 21% - 60% reduction compared to normal rainfall.
Mr. Villarama said agricultural losses have reached 4.39 billion pesos (1,922 billion VND), equivalent to 77,731 hectares of damaged crops. But, 77% of agricultural land affected by El Nino can still be recovered.
Commenting on the recent extreme weather phenomenon in the Philippines, Vice President and Executive Director of the Climate Change Committee Robert Borje said: "The world is sending signs that something needs to be done and This is very alarming."
According to weather agency PAGASA, the Philippines may have to endure scorching heat with the heat index forecast to spike from 45°C to 54.8°C in May. At the same time, PAGASA forecasts that the Philippines will welcome at least 14 The storm will hit the country starting from June to October.
PAGASA weather expert John Manalo predicts that the intensity or number of stations in the dangerous category will increase and the temperature or heat index may also increase.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Center for Ecology and Energy Development said the extreme weather forecast should be considered an " emergency situation ". "This is already an emergency situation. It is not only hot but also burning. That means it is necessary to apply special measures to respond to this situation," the center warned.
To solve the above situation, the Philippine government is considering conducting artificial rain sowing activities , depending on the needs of the affected areas. Cloud seeding will be conducted in the Cagayan region (Philippines), but this is not the main intervention measure to overcome the El Nino climate phenomenon.
"We have to meet cloudy conditions to seed rain and that depends on the wind direction. If we carry out cloud seeding and the wind direction changes, it will flow out to sea. There is already a request to carry out the operation in the Magat Dam area (Luzon, Philippines)," Mr. Villarama clarified.
PAGASA warns people about heat cramps and exhaustion that can occur in areas with dangerous temperature indexes, from 42°C - 51°C. Heat stroke symptoms can also occur with continuous exposure to the sun. At the same time, Mr. Villarama reiterated his call to conserve water and electricity.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper