According to PAGASA Virac officer-in-charge and chief meteorological officer Jun Pantino, the strongest sustained winds that super typhoon “Pepito” unleashed in the capital as measured by the synoptic station at San Isidro Village was at 110 kph, with gustiness of 140 kph.
This was recorded at 11:25 PM of Nov. 16, 2024 just before the storm made landfall somewhere in Panganiban town.
Compared to tropical depression “Kristine” which dumped 481 millimeters of rain during its slow passage east of the island on Oct. 21-23, the super typhoon brought only 225.8 mm of precipitation, Pantino reported.
As to the gusts actually felt by residents of the northern towns as the typhoon sliced through their areas, the wind speeds could have been recorded by the weather stations of the local government units in Bagamanoc, Gigmoto and Viga.
However, data from these weather stations, like the one at the provincial capitol, is not shared with the local PAGASA office.
Meanwhile, the Tribune learned that the representative of the contractor supposed to repair the PAGASA coastal radar station in Agojo, San Andres arrived sometime before the “Pepito” arrived but only went to the facility to take a look and went back to the mainland the following day.
It appears that it could not proceed with the work because the weather agency has yet to procure the needed spare part from the supplier abroad.
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Despite the recent typhoon causing devastation in the province, a slim delegation is representing Catanduanes in the Batang Pinoy Philippine Youth Games this week in the city of Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
The group, composed of five athletes, four coaches and two officials, earlier considered a suggestion to forego participation in the annual sporting competition for the youth but decided to go ahead and try to provide some hope for their fellow islanders by doing well in their events.
Two of them – sprinter Jehjireh Alcantara, who is entered in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash as well as in long jump, and boxer Jojie Rima who will try his best in the 52-54 kg. division – come from Pandan town where their respective families were affected by the howler.
Aside from Rima, the other boxers from Catanduanes are three of the Subion brothers: Archie II in the 44-46 kg. class, Dithrone in the 40-42 kg. and Yurrico in the 50-52 kg. group.
Accompanying the boxers are coaches Archie Subion, Ariel Camacho and John Brian Mari Basinio while Alcantara is with coach Reygan Icaranom.
Heading the contingent are delegation head Edwin Gianan and deputy delegation head Dave Tolentino, who is the current Provincial Youth Development Officer.
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THE CHOICE. A man sees a genie emerge from a swirl of smoke and hears him say, “You have led a noble and righteous life, my good man, so I will grant you one wish: you can choose to be the most attractive man on earth, or you can have boundless wisdom, or you can have endless riches.”
The man pauses for a few seconds before replying, “This is a very easy decision for me. You see, ever since I was a young boy, I have been fascinated by the mysteries of the universe. I have devoted myself to finding the answers to the big questions that plague humanity. I have traveled to many countries and learned from various spiritual traditions. And now you come along and offer me the opportunity to have boundless wisdom, the very thing I’ve been seeking my entire life. This is a no-brainer for me. I choose the wisdom.”
“Your wish is my command,” the genie responds before snapping his fingers, “You now possess the gift of boundless wisdom!”
The genie then bows and vanishes in another swirl of smoke.
The smoke isn’t even clear before the man starts thinking, “Sh*t, I should’ve chosen the money.”