Orange and Lemons

For decades, the tropical cyclone wind signals have been our reference for rainy or stormy weather. Back then, it was just signal numbers 1 to 3. Then, came signal numbers 4 and 5. Then, came strong winds and heavy rains as in a typhoon, but were not from any typhoon. It was due to the habagat southwest monsoon. So, what now? We don’t have warning signals for habagat. Then, came heavy rains not from any typhoon or the habagat, but was due to the shear line. We also don’t have warning signals for shear lines. Now, there are these color coded rainfall warnings. When did this start? One day, I just heard that people are talking about orange and yellow rainfall warnings. Either that or I have not been keeping up with the news.

Yellow means heavy rains which is “rainfall between 7.5 millimeters (mm) and 15 mm within one hour and this will continue in the next two hours.

At maximum, this is equivalent to 6,300 liters of water, or 30 drums, in an hour”. ,” Orange is intense rains or “rainfall between 15 mm and 30 mm within an hour, and this will continue in the next two hours. In an hour, this volume of rainfall can fill four, 20-gallon water containers per square meter.” The public is advised to stay alert and be ready for any actions from the local and disaster units in their place.” Red is torrential, the most dangerous level, with 30 mm or more within an hour, which can fill up eight, 20-gallon water containers per square meter in one hour” (https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net). Arog palan ka’yan. Furthermore, PAGASA has declared that the “Philippines is expected to experience above-normal rainfall conditions from January to March 2025 due to La Niña conditions”. Underscore the phrase, “above normal”. How would that look like? Haven’t we had enough of heavy rains last year? But, this is how it’s probably going to be these months. Sunny days would probably be rare in coming. You better have some spare jackets, because there’s a good chance that you’ll wear them everyday.

There’s just a little problem with these color coded warnings. When yellow rainfall was declared, then, there were heavy rains. When orange rainfall was declared, there was little rain and the sun even shone a bit late in the afternoon. Just last Saturday, yellow rainfall was declared and the rains were torrential. There must be something faulty with the system or their instruments. When they say, it’s going to be heavy, it rains intensely. When they say, it’s going to be intense, it rains lightly with some sunshine. What’s the deal? I’m supposed to count on the weather report to plan my day going about the streets. I would not want to get all wet or catch a cold or get the flu because I’ve been exposing myself under the rain and on soaked damp environment where virus strains thrive.

Back then, when we were kids, if we wanted to know if classes were suspended due to the rains, we listen to the radio. We would wait for announcements. Some would call the radio stations. Information dissemination and reception should be more efficient today, with the Internet or mobile data, social media and the ubiquitous cellphones and all. But instead of one uniform declaration of “no classes”. DepEd seemed to have released some order of leaving it to the school principal. So, parents and students have to wait for the principal to decide on class suspension. What happened is along a street, one student goes to school while two of his neighbors who are also students of the same level stay home. How does that happen? Student A goes to School A. Student B goes to School B. Student C goes to School C. Principal of School A and Principal of School C had already suspended classes. Principal of School B did not. So, Student B goes to school. Are they not all under one sky letting down the same heavy rainfall? Do different schools in the same city experience different amount of heavy rainfall? You might be thinking that I’m only making this story up to poke fun at the system. No, I’m not. This really happened. In case, you miss the point. Let me say it straight. It’s ridiculous. I know; I know. Some schools are in more flood prone areas. Some are in more elevated areas. But they would all get wet with the same millimeters of rainfall regardless of topography and distance from sea level. Can’t we just have one declaration of no classes or classes go on, so it would be uniformly clear? While they’re at it, can they release the announcement a little earlier?

“I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up.” Amos 4:7