Late surge of destructive typhoons adds to Philippines' pandemic woes

What initially appeared to be an uneventful tropical cyclone season, later turned out to be one of the most active in the past decade, recording 22 tropical cyclones for the whole year— eight of which occurred one after another in the last quarter of 2020.

- ELLALYN DE VERA-RUIZ

TYPHOON ULYSSES — Rescuers pull a rubber boat carrying residents through a flooded street in Marikina City after Typhoon Ulysses dumped rains over Metro Manila on November 12, 2020. (AFP)

With the onset of a moderate-tostrong La Niña in October, the country recorded eight cyclones in a row, seven of which made landfall over Luzon including one that developed into a super typhoon.

Except for tropical storm “Nika” (Nangka), the seven cyclones— tropical depression “Ofel,” typhoon “Pepito” (Saudel), typhoon “Quinta” (Molave), super typhoon “Rolly” (Goni), severe tropical storm “Siony” (Atsani), tropical storm “Tonyo” (Etau), and typhoon “Ulysses” (Vamco) all traversed Luzon.

The year 2020 recorded one super typhoon, six typhoons, three severe tropical storms, six tropical storms, and six tropical depressions, surpassing the annual average of 19 to 20 tropical cyclones that visit the Philippines each year.

It was not until May and at the height of the pandemic, however, that the first cyclone of the year had developed.

Named typhoon “Ambo” (Vongfong), the first cyclone of 2020 was also one of the most remarkable cyclones of the year after leaving at least P1 billion worth of damages to infrastructure and agriculture.