MANILA, Philippines - Following Typhoon Tisoy (Kammuri) in parts of the country, all hands were on deck as the Philippine Earth Data Resource and Observation (PEDRO) Center closely monitored the severe weather event, providing government agencies and the public with near real-time satellite images of affected areas during its course.
The PEDRO Center was able to generate maps of potentially flooded areas in Eastern Samar and Camarines Sur on December 3 and 5, respectively.
Optical satellite image shows possible flooded areas (in blue) in Arteche, Eastern Samar last December 3
Optical satellite image shows possible flooded areas (in blue) in Jipapad, Eastern Samar last December 3.
The optical satellite images from Planet Labs’ Dove satellite show possibly flooded areas in the municipality of Arteche and Jipapad, Eastern Samar last December 3, 2019. The possible flooded areas (in blue) were extracted using Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) from pre- and post-satellite images captured over the area.
According to National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s (NDRRMC) latest report released on December 131, Tisoy affected a total of 1,922,106 individuals in regions III, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, V, VIII, Cordillera Administrative Region and CARAGA.
The PEDRO Center also took Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images via KOMPSAT-5 over Camarines Sur last December 5, 2019 to map out possible flooded areas. The areas in violet that were possibly flooded were extracted using change detection from pre- and post- X-band SAR images.
SAR image of parts of Camarines Sur last December 5. The areas in violet indicate possible flooded areas.
SAR image of parts of Camarines Sur last December 5. The areas in violet indicate possible flooded areas.
Typhoon Tisoy entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) at 4:00 p.m. last November 30, 2019 with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph and gustiness of up to 185 kph. Tisoy left PAR the morning of December 5.
As of December 13, NDRRMC reported 196 flooded areas in regions III, CALABARZON, V, VI and VIII.
Floods in North Luzon
Aside from monitoring the wake of Typhoon Tisoy, the PEDRO Center also took satellite images over Cagayan Valley to determine potentially flooded areas as heavy rains poured over the region.
A tail-end of a cold front affected Cagayan Valley and surrounding regions, according to Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) public weather forecast published on its Facebook page at 4:00 p.m. last December 52.
Processed SAR images from December 6 to 7 indicate possible flooded areas (in violet).
For more information about the PEDRO Center, you may visit us at https://asti.dost.gov.ph/projects/pedro-center/ and https://asti.dost.gov.ph/pedro.
References:
1Situational Report No. 19 regarding Response actions and effects of Typhoon “TISOY” (I.N. Kammuri) http://www.ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/3969/Update_Sitrep_no_15_re_Response_actions_and_effects_of_TY_TISOY_issued_on_10_December_2019_8AM.pdf
2Public Weather Forecast Issued at 4:00 PM December 05, 2019, PAGASA https://www.facebook.com/PAGASA.DOST.GOV.PH/videos/681086272298530/