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A.
GETTING TO KNOW THE MAN OF THE HOUR
And
so the Legend Begins
The storm chaser’s
technological-know-how in interpreting forecast models
was put to the test when Typhoon Unding hit the Bicol
region in November 2004. Impressively, he was able to
accurately predict its return, something which was
considered unexpected and an irregular event. Typhoon
Unding was a unique and rare kind of tropical cyclone
which mystified many meteorologists; early morning that
day Typhoon Unding was believed by other agencies to
have passed over the Bicol Region, but Mike Padua said
otherwise. With information at hand, he contacted the
city government of Naga, and with that early warnings
were issued. The entire city was immediately put under
signal no. 3 by the city government, thereby allowing
its citizens to prepare before Unding’s landfall by
night time. As predicted, the raging typhoon made a
turn-around and devastated the entire region. Although
there were some casualties recorded, still many lives
and properties had been spared with the storm chaser’s
help. Winning the heart of the Nagueño and the trust of
the local government for his invaluable service, Mike
Padua became a household name and was given the
prestigious Mayoral Award in 2005.
Time and again, his expertise has been
proven to be on par with that of the Philippine
Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Administration
(PAGASA). Three years later, his service was rendered
not only to the Nagueño, but also to some parts of the Bicol region. For several days, he monitored the super
typhoon’s hourly position. This storm called Reming,
would later be unforgotten not only for its rapid
development into a super typhoon, but also for the
damage and casualties it inflicted upon the region. If
it wasn’t for the dedication and passion that he once
again demonstrated, the losses would have been greater.
The name “Mike Padua ” is
now regularly heard and mentioned in times of typhoons.
His unconventional way of delivering the weather
advisory in his ”nowcasts” is very much anticipated. By
using layman’s terms and specific and concrete language,
he makes weather advisory instantly comprehensible to a
large number of people, especially the poor and the less
educated, who suffer the most during typhoons.
Furthermore, he localizes the weather advisory by
mentioning specific landmarks in such a way that even
the illiterates will know the exact location of the
typhoon within the city. The city government and the
citizens of its nearby towns and municipalities use his
unofficial forecasts either published in his web
site,
www.typhoon2000.com., or aired over the
radio, as basis for their preparation for the arrival of
typhoons. His web site has become a reliable source of
weather updates by the Local Disaster Coordinating
Council (LDCC) and has been acknowledged by PAGASA
itself apart from individuals wanting to know more about
incoming storms.
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