After the initial projections made about the initial strength of Typhoon Ruby/Hagupit, (as it is known internationally) Metro Manila and surrounding areas were fortunate that the typhoon weakened considerably by the time it hit there. Thus, these areas were spared of the damage the typhoon initially brought. Meteorologists explained that typhoons weaken considerably when it makes a landfall. In the case of this typhoon, it made a landfall at least twice in Samar and Masbate which helped weaken its strength from typhoon to tropical depression levels.

I remember that before, strong typhoons are not usually expected to hit the country during November-December. Unfortunately, and sadly, this is no longer the case these days as the climate change phenomenon of recent decades has messed up our planet’s climate, causing strong typhoons to hit our shores even during a period when it was traditionally considered a non-typhoon season. One should not look further than check out the country’s typhoon history for the past 3 years. 2011’s Sendong and 2012’s Pablo hit Mindanao in December and there was Yolanda  in November last year which struck the Visayas in particular.