CHAPTER 7

Hydrometeorological Hazards
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. Distinguish and differentiate among different hydrometeorological
hazards.

2. Recognize signs of impending hydrometeorological hazards.

3. Apply appropriate measures/interventions before, during and after

hydrometeorological hazards.

4. Interpret different hydrometeorological hazard maps.

5. Use available tools for monitoring hydrometeorological hazards.

INTRODUCTION
Hydrometeorological hazards are processes or phenomena of
atmospheric, hydrological or oceanographic nature that may cause loss of
life, injury or other health impacts, property damages, loss of livelihoods
and services, social and economic disruptions, or on environmental
damages.
Hydrometeorological hazards include tropical cyclones (also known
as typhoons and hurricanes), thunderstorms, hailstorms, tornadoes,
blizzards, heavy snowfall, avalanches, storm surges, floods including flash
floods drought, heat waves and cold spells. Hydrometeorological
conditions also can be a factor in other hazards such as landslides, wild
fires, locust plagues, epidemics and volcanic eruptions.
 POTENTIAL HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL
HAZARDS
The following are the most common hydrometeorological hazards as defined
by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

CYCLONE – is an intense low pressure system which is characterized by strong spiral

winds towards the center called the “EYE” in a counter-clockwise flow in the northern
hemisphere. Hazards due to tropical cyclones are strong winds with heavy rainfall that
can cause widespread flooding/flash floods, storm surges, landslides and mudflows.
CLASSIFICATION OF CYCLONES:
Tropical Depression – maximum winds from 35 km per hr to 63 kph.
Tropical Storm – maximum winds from 64 kph to 118 kph.
Typhoon – maximum winds exceeding 118 kph.
TYPHOON – is a large, powerful and violent tropical cyclone. It is a low
pressure area rotating counterclockwise and containing rising warm air
that forms over warm water in the Western Pacific Ocean. Less powerful
tropical cyclones are called Tropical Depressions and Tropical Storms.
A typhoon is called a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean, a cyclone in
the Indian Ocean and wily-wily in Australia. Typhoons can inflict terrible
damage due to thunderstorms, violent winds, torrential rain, floods,
landslides, large and very big waves associated with storm surges.
Hurricane-force winds can reach out as little as 40 km from the center of a
small hurricane and as far as 240 km in a large hurricane. Tropical Storm-
force winds can extend as far as 480 km from the center of a large
hurricane. These are very dangerous storms.
THUNDERSTORM – is a weather condition that produces lightning and
thunder, heavy rainfall from the cumulonimbus cloud and possibly a
tornado. It is a violent local atmospheric disturbance accompanied by
lightning, thunder and heavy rain, and often by strong gusts of wind and
sometimes by hail. The typical thunderstorm caused by convection occurs
when the sun’s warmth has heated a large body of moist air near the
ground.
This air rises and is cooled by expansion. The cooling condenses the
water vapor present in the air, forming a cumulus cloud . The turbulent air
current within the cloud causes a continual breaking up and reuniting of
the rain drops, which may form hail, and builds up strong electrical
charges that result in lightning. Thunderstorms occur most frequently in
the equatorial zone (some localities have as many as 200 a year) and
seldom in the polar region.
TORNADO – is described as a violently rotating column of air
extending from a thunderstorm to the ground. Tornadoes come in
many sizes but are typically in the form of a visible condensation
funnel whose narrow end touches the Earth and is often encircled by
a cloud of debris.
It can have a wide range of colors depending on the
environment. Typically, tornadoes may appear nearly transparent and
invisible until dust and debris are picked up. Tornadoes develop from
severe thunderstorms in warm, unstable air along and ahead of cold
fronts. It starts from a change in direction, an increase in wind speed
with increasing height and a rise from within the thunderstorm which
triggers the rotation of wind from horizontal and vertical.
FLASH FLOOD – is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying
areas like washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by
heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, tropical
storm, or melt water from ice or snowfields.
Flash floods may occur after the collapse of a natural ice or
debris dam or a human structure such as a man – made dam. Flash
floods are distinguished from regular floods by a timescale of less
than six hours. The water that is temporary available is often used by
foliage with rapid germination and short growth cycles, and by
specially adapted animal life.
FLOOD – is the inundation of land areas which are not normally covered
by water. A flood is usually caused by a temporary rise or the overflowing
of a river, stream or other water course, inundating adjacent lands of flood
plains.
It could also be due to a temporary rise of lakes, oceans or
reservoirs and other enclosed bodies of water, inundating border lands due
to heavy and prolonged rainfall associated with tropical cyclones,
monsoons, inter-tropical convergence zones or active low pressure areas.
Floods are basically hydrological phenomena and they are also caused by
storm surges and tsunami along coastal areas. Several factors contribute to
flooding. Two key elements are rainfall intensity and duration. Intensity is
the rate of rainfall, and the duration is how long the rain lasts. Flooding
occurs in known foodplains when prolonged rainfall over several days,
intense rainfall over a short period of time or a debris jam causes a river or
stream to overflow and flood the surrounding area.
STORM SURGE – is a rise of seawater above normal sea level on the
coast generated by the action of weather elements such as cyclonic wind
and atmospheric pressure. Sea level is raised and driven towards the coast.
Where the depth is shallow and the slope of the sea bed is gradual, the
natural flow of the water is delayed by the effect of friction on the sea bed.
As more water moves from the sea to the coast excess water piles up on
the shore line.
This piling up of water makes a large volume of water which might
eventually flow into the hinterland some distance from the coast.
Depending upon the shape of the coastline and the slope of the sea bed,
storm surge can sweep across large portions of coastal areas.
EL NINO & LA NINA – are complex weather patterns resulting from
variations in ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. These two
phenomena are opposite phases of what is known as the El Nino – Southern
Oscillation (ENSO) cycle. The ENSO cycle is a scientific term that describes
the fluctuations in temperature between the ocean and atmosphere in the east –
central Equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date Line
and 120 degrees West).
La Nina sometimes referred to as the cold phase of ENSO and El Nino
as the warm phase of ENSO. These deviations from normal surface
temperature can have larger scale impacts not only on ocean processes but also
on the global weather and climate.
El Nino and La Nina episodes typically last 9 – 12 months but some
prolonged events may last for years. While their frequency can be quite
irregular. They occur on average of two to seven years. Typically, El Nino
occurs more frequently than La Nina.
 SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING TYPHOON OR HURRICANE

Every typhoon / hurricane is different and there are many factors that
contribute to its development. However, the following is a general sequence of events
that could occur during the development of a Category 2 typhoon / hurricane (wind
speed 96 – 110 mph) approaching to a coastal area (Herald Tribune, 2011).

96 hours before landfall: At first, there aren’t any apparent signs of a storm.
The barometer is steady, winds are light and variable and fair-weather cumulus cloud
appear.
72 hours before landfall: Little has changed, except the swell on the ocean
surface has increased to about six feet and the waves come in every nine seconds. This
means that the storm far over the horizon is approaching.
 48 hours before the landfall: the sky is now clear of clouds, the
barometer is steady and the wind is almost calm. The swell is now about nine
feet and coming in every 8 seconds.

36 hours before landfall: the first signs of a storm appear. The barometer
is falling slightly , the wind is around 11 mph and the ocean swell is about 13
feet and coming in seven seconds apart. On the horizon, a large mass of white
cirrus clouds appear. As the veil of clouds approaches, it covers more of the
horizon. A hurricane is watch is issued, and areas with log evacuation times are
given the order to begin.

30 hours before landfall: the sky is covered by a high overcast. The

barometer is falling at 0.1 millibar per hour; winds pick up to about 23 mph. the
ocean swell coming in five seconds apart, is the beginning to be obscured by
wind-driven waves and small whitecaps begin to appear on the ocean surface.
 24 hours before landfall: small low clouds appear overhead. The barometer is
falling by 2 millibars per hour, the wind picks up to 34 mph. The wind driven waves
are covered in whitecaps and streaks of foam begin to ride over the surface.
Evacuations should be completed and final preparations made by this time. A hurricane
warning is issued and people living in low lying areas and in mobile homes are ordered
to evacuate.

18 hours before landfall: the low clouds are thicker and bring driving rain
squalls with gusty wind. The barometer is steadily falling at half a millibar per hour
and the winds are whistling by at 46 mph. It is hard to stand against the wind.

12 hours before the landfall: the rain squalls are more frequent and the winds
don’t diminish after they depart. The cloud ceiling is getting lower and the barometer
is falling at 1 millibar per hour. The wind is howling at hurricane force at 74 mph. the
sea advances with every storm wave that crashes ashore, and foam patches.
 6 hours before landfall: the rain is constant and the 92 mph wind
drives it horizontally. The barometer is falling 1.5 millibar per hour and
the storm surge has advanced above the high tide mark. The sea surface a
whitish mass of spray. It is impossible to stand upright outside without
bracing yourself.

1 hour before landfall: the rain becomes heavier. Low areas inland
become flooded. The winds are at 104 mph and the barometer is falling at
2 millibar per hour. The sea is white with foam and streaks. The storm
surge has covered coastal roads and 16 foot waves crash into buildings
near the shore.
 LANDFALL : THE EYE OF THE STORM
Just as the storm reaches its peak, the winds begin to slacken and
the sky starts to brighten. The rain ends abruptly and the clouds break and
the blue sky is seen. The barometer continues falling at 3 millibar per hour
and the storm surge reaches the furthest inland. The winds fall to near
calm but the air is uncomfortably warm and humid. Huge walls of cloud
appear on every side brilliant white in the sunlight. At this point, the
barometer stops falling and in a moment begins to rise soon as fast as it
fell. The winds begin to pick up slightly and the clouds on the far side of
the eye wall loom overhead.
 TOOLS IN TRACKING THE STORM
SATELLITE – is the most advanced technology used in monitoring a cyclone
or typhoon. It can visualize exactly in real time the formation and the path of a
cyclone.

Doppler RADAR – radar is an acronym for Radio Detection and Ranging.

Since 1939, radar technology has been for purpose ranging from warfare to
weather predictions to catching speeders on the highways. Radar detection
devices emit and receive radio waves to determine the distance from the source
to the object by measuring the time if it takes for the echo of the wave to return.
Specifically, weather radar measures the direction and the speed of moving
objects such as precipitation and has the capacity to measure the velocity of the
particles in order to determine the rate of which the particles are falling.
 Weather radar is a certain type of radar known as Doppler radar, named
because of the Doppler effect which recognizes that the frequency shift of
waves bounced off of an object is related to the object’s velocity towards or
away from the observer ( the common example of this effect is the change in
pitch of a train whistle as it moves past an observer ).
Doppler radar works by detecting the presence and location of an object
by bouncing a radio wave off of it and detecting the time it takes for the signal
to return. Using the time value and the knowledge of the speed of the wave, the
distance traveled can be determined. These radar waves are bounced off of
moving objects. In the case of weather, these objects are raindrops, snowflakes
or other forms of precipitation. Using the Doppler effect, the change in
frequency of the returning wave, as compared to the frequency of the wave that
was sent out, yields the direction and speed that the object is moving ( radially )
away from or towards the detector source. This data is then electronically
converted into pictures showing the location and intensity of precipitation.
 PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION
The following preparedness and mitigation strategies are adopted from
the Department of Education’s Disaster Risk Reduction Resource Manual
issued on 2008.

A. TYPHOON
Preparedness ( What to do before? )
• Establish and maintain coordination with Barangay Disaster
Coordinating Councils (BDCC) and personnel.
• Ensure that house can withstand heavy rain and strong winds. House
built at ground level may be anchored by guy wires to strengthen the
stability of the structure.
• Learn more about typhoon and other weather disturbances, their signs and
warnings, effects and dangers and how to protect house and other properties.
• Learn something relevant to mitigation and preparedness for tropical cyclones.
• Participate actively in the school’s disaster response – drill or simulation.

Response ( What to do during? )

• Monitoring through radio or other reliable sources the latest official report of
PAGASA on the typhoon.
• When house is no longer safe, evacuate immediately to safer place like
evacuation centers or house of relatives that are proven stable and can
withstand strong wind and rain.
• Stay indoors and away from windows.
• Keep an open line of communication with relatives that are not affected to
keep them posted.
• Ensure that members of the family will remain calm by keeping them informed
of the latest development.

Rehabilitation ( What to do after? )

• Help in attending to victims immediately. For minor cuts and wounds apply
first aid.
• In case of major cuts and wounds, seek necessary medical assistance at disaster
station or hospital.
• Help in checking the house for damages and losses. Note damages that require
immediate repair, e.g. electrical connections and water supply
• Coordinate with the Barangay officials and LGU’s for assistance.
 B. THUNDERSTORM
Preparedness ( What to do before? )
Develop a Family Preparedness Plan
In case of severe thunderstorm – specific planning should include the following:
• Learn more about your area’s severe thunderstorm risk.
• Discuss how you would know if a thunderstorm may produce a tornado.
• Discuss how to be warned of an approaching thunderstorm.
• Recommend trimming and removal of dead or rotting trees that could fall and may
cause damage or injury.
• Secure outdoor objects that could be blown away and cause damage.
• Secure house doors and windows both from the inside and outside.
• Learn how to estimate the distance of the thunderclouds by computing the
difference in time (second) between seeing the flash of lightning and hearing the
claps of thunder.
 Response ( What to do during? )
• Learn to do the lightning safety position and stay away from structures, trees, towers,
fences, telephone lines or power lines if out in the open.
• Carefully watch out for falling debris and flash floods.
• Stay calm throughout the occurrence of thunderstorm.
• Postpone all outdoor activities.
• Avoid plumbing and bathroom fixtures that are good conductors of electricity.
• Unplug or turn off all appliances and other electrical items such as computers. Electric
power surges and storm lightning can cause serious damage to these appliances.
• Turn off the air conditioner and television, and stay off the phone until the storm is over.
Use a battery operated radio for gaining information.
• Choose and move to a safe place in your house (if there is any) where members of the
family can gather together during a thunderstorm preferably on the lowest floor of your
house. This should be a place where there are no windows, skylights or glass door
which could be broken by strong winds or hail causing damage and injury.
 LIGHTNING SAFETY POSITION
“Lightning safety experts have invented a “lightning safety
position” that is very important to know if you are caught in a
thunderstorm and you can’t find a shelter. This position looks hard,
but it could save your life. There are several reasons for doing it: it
makes you a smaller target. With your heels together, if lightning
hits the ground, it goes through the closest foot up to your heel and
then transfers to the other foot and goes back to the ground again.
If you don’t put your feet together, lightning could go through your
heart and kill you. You put your hands over your ears to protect
them from thunder.” (Lightning Safety Experts).
 C. TORNADO
Preparedness ( What to do before? )
• Develop a preparedness plan for the whole family.
• Have a periodic drills with the members of the family.
• Inspect pre-designated areas to ensure the best protection.
• Keep an open line communication with other members of the family.
• Listen to radio and television for information.
• Store flashlights and back up batteries to receive warnings response.
 Response ( What to do during? )
• Move to a pre-designated area or an interior room on the lowest floor and get
under a sturdy piece of furniture.
• Stay away from the windows.
• Lie flat in a depression if caught outside your house/school or any building.

Rehabilitation ( What to do after? )

• Attend to survivors immediately.
• Check the house for damages and losses.
• Coordinate with proper authorities for assistance.
 D. FLASH & FLASHFLOOD
Preparedness ( What to do before? )
• Find out the frequency of occurrence of floods in the locality, especially those that affect
your area. Know the flood warning system in your locality. If none exists recommend to
the appropriate authority for the creation of one.
• Research from previous occurrences how fast the water floods occur in your area and
how it rises.
• If it has been raining hard for several hours, or steadily raining for several days, be alert
to the possibility of a flood. Floods happen as the ground becomes saturated.
• Watch out rapidly rising water and help prepare the family for evacuation. Switch off the
electricity and lock the rooms after all have gone out.
• Have a handy survival kit. It should contain battery operated transistor radio, flashlight,
emergency cooking equipment, candles, matches and first aid kit.
• Use a radio or a portable battery powered radio or television for updated information.
Local stations provide the best advice for your particular situation.
 Response ( What to do during? )
• Stay calm and keep updated with the status of the situation and safety
reminders on what to do and where to go in case of evacuation.
• Listen continuously to a radio, or a portable battery powered radio or
television for updated emergency information.
• Do not attempt to cross flowing streams unless assured that the water is
below the knee high level.
• Avoid areas prone to flash flooding and be cautious of water covered roads,
bridges, creeks and stream banks and recently flooded areas.
• Do not go swimming or boating in swollen rivers.
• Watch out for snakes in flooded areas.
• Eat only well – cooked food and drink only clean or preferably boiled water
and throw away all food that has come into contact with flood water.
 Rehabilitation ( What to do after? )
• Report broken utility lines (electricity, water, gas, etc.) immediately to
appropriate agencies/authorities.
• Ensure that electrical appliances are checked by a competent electrician
before switching them on.
• Avoid affected areas.
• Continue to listen to a radio or local television stations and return home only
when authorities indicate it is safe to do so.
• Stay away from any building that is still flooded.
 E. STORM SURGE
Preparedness ( What to do before? )
• Know the storm surge risk zones and identify safer grounds for relocation if
necessary.
• Stay off the beach when weather disturbance exists.
• Ensure that everyone is familiar with the identified escape routes of the
family to higher grounds.
• Help establish evacuation plans and procedures.
• Participate in the regular conduct of drills and exercises.
 Response ( What to do during? )
• Immediately move to higher grounds upon detection of signs of a possible
storm surge or upon receiving a warning that a storm surge is imminent.
• Be alert of and stay away from steep, high coastal areas which are prone to
landslides.
• Switch off power supply.
• Stay on the inland side away from the potential flow of water.
• If caught in a storm surge, take hold of large boulders or tree trunks which
can provide protection from the force of water or debris carried by the
flowing water.
 Rehabilitation ( What to do after? )
• Do not eat fresh food that came in contact with flood waters.
• Drinking water should be submitted to proper authorities for testing.
• Check damage of the house to ensure that there is no danger of collapse.
• Check house for electrical damage and open live wires. Electrical fixtures
should only be switched on after making sure that is safe to do so.
• Help clean all mud and debris immediately.
 TOOLS FOR MONITORING
HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL HAZARDS
The Philippine government’s initiative for scientific forecasting, monitoring,
assessment and information services regarding natural hazards are all embodied in a
single and unified project named as PROJECT NOAH.

PROJECT NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards)

Project NOAH is the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
response to the call of President Benigno S. Aquino III for a more accurate,
integrated and responsive disaster prevention and mitigation system especially in
high risk areas throughout the Philippines.
 The Project will harness technologies and management services for disaster risk
reduction activities offered by the DOST through PAGASA, PHIVOLCS and the
DOST – Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) in partnership with the UP
National Institute of Geological Sciences and the UP College of Engineering.
The Project has the following components:

1. Distribution of Hydrometeorological Devices in hard-hit areas in the Philippines

(Hydromet). A total of 600 automated rain gauges (ARG) and 400 water level
monitoring stations (WLMS) will be installed along the country’s 18 major river
basins (RB’s) by December 2013 to provide a better picture of the country’s surface
water in relation to flooding.
2. Disaster Risk Exposure Assessment for Mitigation – Light Detection and Ranging
(DREAM-LIDAR) Project. It targeted to be completed by December 2013, aims to
produce more accurate flood inundation and hazard maps in 3D for the country’s
flood-prone and major river systems and watersheds.
3. Enhancing Geohazards Mapping through LIDAR. The project which is targeted to be
completed by December 2014, shall use LIDAR technology and computer assisted
analyses to identify exact areas prone to landslides.
4. Coastal Hazards and Storm Surge Assessment and Mitigation (CHASSAM). This
targeted to be completed by December 2014, will generate wave surge, wave refraction
and coastal circulation models to understand and recommend solutions for coastal
erosion.
5. Flood Information Network (FloodNET) Project. Targeted to be completed by
December 2013 is a flood center that will provide timely and accurate information for
flood early warning systems. The FloodNET Project will come up with computer
models for the critical RB’s, automate the process of data gathering, modeling and
information output and release flood forecasts.
6. Local Development of Doppler Radar Systems (LaDDeRS). Seeks to develop local
capacity to design, fabricate, and operate sub-systems of Doppler radars for remotely
sensing the dynamic parameters of sea surface such as wave, wind field, and surface
current velocity.
7. Landslide Sensors Development Project. This Project is a low cost locally
developed, sensor based early monitoring and warning system for
landslides, slope failures, and debris flow. As of May 2012, ten sensors
have been installed in San Fransisco, Surigao del Norte; Tago, Surigao del
Sur; Tublay, Buguias and Bokod in Benguet; Guihulngan City Negros
Occidental; St. Bernard, Southern Leyte; and Tubungan, Iloilo. Additional
sensors are expected to be deployed to not less than 50 sites by 2013.
8. Weather Hazard Information Project (WHIP). It involves the utilization of
platforms such as television (DOSTv) and a web portal which display real
time satellite. Doppler radar, ARG, and WLMS data to empower LGUs
and communities to prepare against extreme natural hazards. This is
complemented by activities such as : a) conducting of IEC ( Information,
Education and Communication) activities; and b) the processing and
packaging of relevant and up to date information for public use.