Government weather forecasters are seeing a silver lining in the storm clouds of typhoon “Chedeng” (international name Maysak).
An official of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Thursday that rain brought by Chedeng could help replenish water in Luzon dams, whose water levels have been continuously going down.
“Nangangailangan tayo ng ulan kaya most welcome ang ulan nitong si Chedeng,” (We need rain that’s why the rain of Chedeng is most welcome) said Esperanza Cayanan, officer-in-charge of Pagasa.
She explained, “Katatapos lang ng amihan at kasisimula ng tag-init. Sana man lang makapagdagdag ng tubig ang bagyo.” (The northeast monsoon has just ceased and the dry season has begun. Let’s hope the storm’s rain bring some relief.)
According to Pagasa’s data, the dams in Luzon needed 790 meters of water to go back to normal levels.
Here is the status of the dams as of Thursday morning:
However, Cayanan said Chedeng would further weaken and its rains would not be enough to replenish the dams.
The onset of dry or summer season was declared by the weather bureau last Wednesday.