Storm weakens but brings rain to drought-hit Mindanao

Tropical depression Chedeng weakened into a low pressure when it made landfall in Davao Occidental province in Mindanao but it still managed to bring rain to many areas still suffering from a drought or prolonged dry spell arising from the El Nino weather phenomenon.

State weathermen said that although it weakened considerably ater Chedeng hit land on the town of Malita in Davao Occidental shortly ater 5 am on Tuesday it brought from moderate to heavy rain in many water-starved areas in Mindanao, resulting in heavy damages particularly to farm products like rice, corn and vegetables.

In particular, the rain would be a welcome relief to many parts of Mindanao especially over the regions of Davao, Socksargen, the newly established Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the Zamboanga Peninsula, according to weathermen.

BARMM, composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-tawi, Basilan and Sulu as well as the cities of Marawi, Isabela and Cotabato as well as several “barangay” (villages) from North Cotabato was set up by the Bangsamoro Organic Law aimed at helping bring just and lasting peace to war-torn Mindanao.

But although all storm signals have already been lited, weathermen warned residents in the affected areas to be on alert against “danger areas” prone to flash floods and landslides due to rain.

“It maybe a weak tropical depression but in our experience, tropical cyclones bring a lot of rain that could cause floods or landslides,” noted Landrico Dalida, a senior weather bureau official, pointed out.

Flaviana Hilario, the deputy administrator of the weather bureau, noted that Mindanao has been receiving “way below normal” or a 60 percent reduction in rainfall in the past two months due to El Nino.

El Nino is characterized by drought or a prolonged dry spell in sharp contrast to La Nina that is highlighted by heavy rainfall, weather experts said.