Wettest weather: Tacloban had highest rainfall in 4-city climate study

Before super typhoon “Yolanda” devastated the city, Tacloban in Leyte province was already experiencing increasing rainfall over a 14-year period and had the highest amount of rains among four cities included in a recent study.

The study conducted by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Foundation examined various climate vulnerabilities in several key cities. It examined the history of storms in Tacloban and calculated average annual rainfall in the city from the years 1998 to 2011 at 2,494 millimeters (mm), which is higher than the average annual rainfall of 2,400 mm in the country.

The study also showed that average annual rainfall in Tacloban was rising “a dramatic 257% from 1,853 mm in 1998 to 4,678 mm in 2011.”

“This is the highest rainfall, as well as the highest increase in precipitation, for all four cities assessed in Phase 3 of this project,” the study said.

The other three cities included in the study are Angeles, Pampanga (2,075 mm); Naga, Bicol (2,306 mm); and Batangas City, Batangas (1,834 mm).

The study, “Business Risk Assessment and the Management of Climate Change Impacts”, revealed that Tacloban has been hit by an average of 2.3 typhoons per year in the past 50 years.

By David Dizon

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