YOLANDA/HAINAN DIARIES 1 : What is a storm surge?

What is a storm surge?

During the presence of weather disturbances in our PAR or Philippine Area of Responsibility this year, PAGASA officials I believe were never remiss in their task of warning people in would-be affected areas about the possibility of a storm surge, most especially when the weather disturbance or typhoon is strong. However, despite the repeated mentions, it seems that nobody ever paid attention to it, primarily because nobody really tried to explain what a storm surge is.

The concept of tsunami was alien to us at first. But when catastrophic tsunamis (generated by powerful earthquakes) hit some Asian countries before  such as Indonesia, Thailand and Japan which claimed thousands of lives and destroyed valuable infrastructures and properties, we Filipinos became aware of what a tsunami is and the extent of damage that it can cause.

Such awareness makes us always on the look-out for possible tsunamis when an earthquake hits our neighbor countries. More so when our own islands are the recipient of earthshaking tremors. Still remember what happened to Cebu and Bohol?

Recently, a super typhoon by the name of Yolanda passed by our country and left the provinces along its path such as Leyte and Samar ruthlessly obliterated. The most hated typhoon as of late did not only bring extremely strong winds and hefty amounts of rain – it also brought mega tons of water from the ocean through a phenomenon called “storm surge”. Such phenomenon drowned many people in the affected provinces in the Visayas region. Survivors recalled with horror the angry rush of tsunami-like waves which engulfed cities and towns.

I am very certain that the people in the Visayas readied themselves for the winds and rain, as they always do, but did not ready themselves for storm surges due to their lack of knowledge of what such phenomena are all about. They could have gone to higher places, had they been properly warned about it. A brutal fact of life is that we become fully aware of something when it is already in front of us, ready to strike, which gives us either with little or no opportunity to preserve life and property.

So what is a storm surge?

A storm surge is an abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, over and above the predicted astronomical tide. It is the change in the water level that is due to the presence of a storm. Storm surge is primarily caused by the strong winds in a hurricane or tropical storm. Storm surge is produced by water being pushed towards the shore by the force of the winds moving cyclonically around the storm. (NOAA-NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION)

www.noaa.gov

www.noaa.gov

The name “storm surge” may not sound as frightening as “tsunami”. But I think all of us will agree that it is equally catastrophic. What happened to Leyte and Samar is more than enough to substantiate this. If you are not yet convinced, then let me share with you that in 2005, Hurricane Katrina produced storm surges that were 25 to 28 feet above normal tide which devastated New Orleans and Mississippi. 

To conclude, I hope that we are all aware of what a storm surge is. This is our newest entry to our safety vocabulary. It pays to be informed.