Approximately twenty tropical cyclones enter the Philippine area of responsibility yearly, an area

which incorporates parts of the Pacific Ocean, South China Sea and the Philippine Archipelago (with
the exception of Tawi-Tawi province). Among these cyclones, ten will be typhoons, with five having
the potential to be destructive ones.[3] The Philippines is "the most exposed country in the world to
tropical storms" according to a Time Magazine article in 2013.[4] In the Philippine languages, tropical
cyclones are generally called bagyo.[5]
Typhoons can hit the Philippines any time of year, with the months of June to September being most
active, with August being the most active individual month and May the least active. Typhoons move
east to west across the country, heading north as they go. Storms most frequently make landfall on
the islands of Eastern Visayas, Bicol region, and northern Luzon[4] whereas the southern island and
region of Mindanao is largely free of typhoons. Climate change is likely to worsen the situation with
the extreme weather events including typhoons posing various risks and threats to the Philippines.[6]
The deadliest overall tropical cyclone to affect the Philippines is believed to have been the Haiphong
typhoon which is estimated to have killed up to 20,000 people as it passed over the country in
September 1881. In modern meteorological records, the deadliest storm was Typhoon
Yolanda (international name Haiyan), which became the strongest landfalling tropical cyclone ever
recorded as it crossed the Visayas in central Philippines on November 7–8, 2013. The wettest
known tropical cyclone to impact the archipelago was the July 14–18, 1911 cyclone which dropped
over 2,210 millimetres (87 in) of rainfall within a 3-day, 15-hour period in Baguio.[7]Tropical cyclones
usually account for at least 30 percent of the annual rainfall in the northern Philippines while being
responsible for less than 10 percent of the annual rainfall in the southern islands. PAGASA Senior
Weather Specialist Anthony Lucero told the newsite Rappler that the number of destructive typhoons
have increased recently but it is too early to call it a trend.[3]
Tropical cyclones entering the Philippine Area of Responsibility are given a local name by
the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA),
which also raises public storm signal warnings as deemed necessary.[8][9]
Preparation and response to typhoons is coordinated by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council (NDRRMC). Each Philippine province and local government in the
Philippines has a corresponding Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO). Each
provincial and local government is required to set aside 5% of its yearly budget for disaster risk
reduction, preparations, and response.[3]
The frequency of typhoons in the Philippines have made the typhoons a significant part of everyday
ancient and modern Filipino culture.[4]

Etymology[edit]
Bagyo (sometimes spelled bagyu) is the word for "typhoon" or "storm" in most Philippine languages,
including Tagalog, Visayan, Ilocano, Bicolano, Hanunó'o, Aklanon, and Pangasinan. It is derived
from Proto-Austronesian*baRiuS, meaning "typhoon". Cognates in other Austronesian
languages include Sama baliw ("wind"), Amis faliyos or farios ("typhoon"); Saisiyat balosh ("typhoon"
), Babuza bayus ("storm"), Puyuma variw, Bintulu bauy ("wind"), Kelabit bariw ("storm wind"),
and Chamorro pakyo ("typhoon").[10]

Storm naming conventions: local and international

names[edit]
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Honolulu started monitoring and naming storms in the
Western Pacific region in 1945, originally using female names in English alphabetical order. That list
was revised in 1979 by introducing male names to be used in alternation with the female
names.[11] The Philippine Weather Bureau started naming storms within their area of responsibility in
1963, using female Filipino names ending in ng in native alphabetical order. The Bureau continued
to monitor typhoons until the agency's abolition in 1972, after which its duties were transferred to the
newly-established PAGASA. This often resulted in a Western Pacific cyclone carrying two names: an
international name and a local name generally used within the Philippines. This two-name scheme is
still followed today.
Beginning in 2000, cyclone monitoring duties in the Western Pacific were transferred from the JTWC
to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the RSMC of the World Meteorological Organization. The
international naming scheme of the typhoons was replaced with a sequential list of names
contributed by 14 nations in the region, including the Philippines. The new scheme largely uses
terms for local features of the contributing nation, such as animals, plants, foods and adjectives in
the native language. The rotation of names is based on the alphabetical order of the contributing
nations. The Philippines, however, would maintain its own naming scheme for its local forecasts.
In 2001, PAGASA revised its naming scheme to contain longer annual lists with a more mixed set of
names.
Currently, the JMA and PAGASA each assign names to typhoons that form within or enter the
Philippine Area of Responsibility. The JMA naming scheme for international use contains 140 names
described above. The list is not restricted by year; the first name to be used in a typhoon season is
the name after the last-named cyclone of the preceding season. The PAGASA naming scheme for
Philippine use contains four lists, each containing twenty-five names arranged in alphabetical order.
Every typhoon season begins with the first name in the assigned list, and the rolls of names are
each reused every four years. An auxiliary list of ten names is used when the main list in a year had
been exhausted. Not all Western Pacific cyclones are given names by both weather agencies, as
JMA does not name tropical depressions, and PAGASA does not name cyclones outside the
Philippine Area of Responsibility.
In the case of both weather agencies, names are retired when a typhoon carrying it caused severe
or costly damage and loss of life. Retirement is decided by the agencies' committees, although in
PAGASA's case, names are routinely retired when the cyclone caused at least 300 deaths or ₱1
billion in damage in the Philippines. Retired names are replaced with another name for the next
rotation, for JMA by the nation that submitted the retired name, and for PAGASA with a name
sharing the same first letter as the retired name.

Variability in activity[edit]
On an annual time scale, activity reaches a minimum in May, before increasing steadily to June, and
spiking from July to September, with August being the most active month for tropical cyclones in the
Philippines. Activity reduces significantly in October.[12] The most active season, since 1945, for
tropical cyclone strikes on the island archipelago was 1993 when nineteen tropical cyclones moved
through the country (though there were 36 storms that were named by PAGASA).[13] There was only
one tropical cyclone which moved through the Philippines in 1958.[14] The most frequently impacted
areas of the Philippines by tropical cyclones are northern Luzon and eastern Visayas.[15]A ten-year
average of satellite determined precipitation showed that at least 30 percent of the annual rainfall in
the northern Philippines could be traced to tropical cyclones, while the southern islands receive less
than 10 percent of their annual rainfall from tropical cyclones.[16]

Tropical cyclone warning signals[edit]

PAGASA's
Tropical Cyclone Warning Signals (TCWS)[17][18]

Warning Signal Meaning

winds of 30–60 km/h (20-37 mph)

TCWS #1
are expected to occur within 36 hours

winds of 61–120 km/h (38–73 mph)

TCWS #2
are expected to occur within 24 hours

winds of 121–170 km/h (74–105 mph)

TCWS #3
are expected to occur within 18 hours

winds of 171–220 km/h (106–137 mph)

TCWS #4
are expected to occur within 12 hours

winds greater than 220 km/h (137 mph)

TCWS #5
are expected to occur within 12 hours

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA)

releases tropical cyclone warnings in the form of tropical cyclone warning signals.[19] An area having
a storm signal may be under:

 TCWS #1 - Tropical cyclone winds of 30 km/h (19 mph) to 60 km/h (37 mph) are expected within
the next 36 hours. (Note: If a tropical cyclone forms very close to the area, then a shorter lead
time is seen on the warning bulletin.)
 TCWS #2 - Tropical cyclone winds of 61 km/h (38 mph) to 120 km/h (75 mph) are expected
within the next 24 hours.
 TCWS #3 - Tropical cyclone winds of 121 km/h (75 mph) to 170 km/h (110 mph) are expected
within the next 18 hours.
 TCWS #4 - Tropical cyclone winds of 171 km/h (106 mph) to 220 km/h (140 mph) are expected
within 12 hours.
 TCWS #5 - Tropical cyclone winds greater than 220 km/h (140 mph) are expected within
12 hours.
These tropical cyclone warning signals are usually raised when an area (in the Philippines only) is
about to be hit by a tropical cyclone. As a tropical cyclone gains strength and/or gets nearer to an
area having a storm signal, the warning may be upgraded to a higher one in that particular area (e.g.
a signal No. 1 warning for an area may be increased to signal #3). Conversely, as a tropical cyclone
weakens and/or gets farther to an area, it may be downgraded to a lower signal or may be lifted (that
is, an area will have no storm signal).
Classes for preschool are canceled when signal No. 1 is in effect. Elementary and high school
classes and below are cancelled under signal No. 2 and classes for colleges, universities and below
are cancelled under signal Nos. 3, 4 and 5.

Deadliest cyclones[edit]

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) to make landfall over Leyte in November 2013

Typhoon Megi nearing landfall over the Philippines on October 18, 2010

Rank[20] Storm Dates of impact Deaths

1 Haiphong 1881 1881, September 27 20,000

2 Haiyan/Yolanda 2013 2013, November 7–8 6,300[21]

3 Thelma/Uring 1991 1991, November 4–7 5,101[22]

 Rank[20] Storm Dates of impact Deaths

4 Bopha/Pablo 2012 2012, December 2–9 1,901

5 Angela typhoon 1867, September 22 1,800[23]

6 Winnie 2004 2004, November 27–29 1,593

7 October 1897 typhoon 1897, October 7 1,500[23]

8 Ike/Nitang 1984 1984, September 3–6 1,492

9 Fengshen/Frank 2008 2008, June 20–23 1,410

10 Durian/Reming 2006 2006, November 29-December 1 1,399

Wettest recorded tropical cyclones[edit]

Main article: List of wettest tropical cyclones by country

Wettest tropical cyclones and their remnants in the Philippine islands

Highest-known totals

Precipitation

Storm Location Ref.

Rank mm in

1 2210.0 87.01 July 1911 cyclone Baguio [24]

2 1854.3 73.00 Parma (Pepeng) 2009 Baguio [25]

3 1216.0 47.86 Carla (Trining) 1967 Baguio [24]

4 1116.0 43.94 Zeb (Iliang) 1998 La Trinidad, Benguet [26]

5 1085.8 42.74 Utor (Feria) 2001 Baguio [27]

6 1077.8 42.43 Koppu (Lando) 2015 Baguio [25]

7 1012.7 39.87 Mindulle (Igme) 2004 [28]

 8 902.0 35.51 Kujira (Dante) 2009 [29]

9 879.9 34.64 September 1929 typhoon Virac, Catanduanes [30]

10 869.6 34.24 Dinah (Openg) 1977 Western Luzon [31]

Most destructive[edit]

Animated enhanced infrared satellite loop of Typhoon Haiyan from peak intensity to landfall in the Philippines

Costliest Philippine typhoons

Damage
Rank Storm Season Ref.
PHP USD

1 Haiyan (Yolanda) 2013 ₱95.5 billion $2.2 billion [32]

2 Bopha (Pablo) 2012 ₱43.2 billion $1.06 billion [33]

3 Rammasun (Glenda) 2014 ₱38.6 billion $885 million [34]

4 Mangkhut (Ompong) 2018 ₱33.9 billion $627 million [35]

5 Parma (Pepeng) 2009 ₱27.3 billion $581 million [36]

6 Nesat (Pedring) 2011 ₱15.6 billion $356 million [33]

7 Koppu (Lando) 2015 ₱14.4 billion $313 million [37]

8 Fengshen (Frank) 2008 ₱13.5 billion $304 million [38]

9 Megi (Juan) 2010 ₱12 billion $278 million [33]

10 Ketsana (Ondoy) 2009 ₱11 billion $233 million [36]