In Bicol, weather lores aid in disaster preparedness

BLOOD RED SKY. The skies in Barangay Toytoy, Caramoran, on Palumbanes Island in Catanduanes turn blood-red on Thursday (Nov. 14, 2024) before Super Typhoon Pepito (international name Man-yi) hit the province on Saturday (Nov. 16). Experts say red skies signal the arrival of moisture-laden air and thickening clouds that indicate worsening weather conditions. (Photo courtesy of Encheca Aguilar)

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BLOOD RED SKY. The skies in Barangay Toytoy, Caramoran, on Palumbanes Island in Catanduanes turn blood-red on Thursday (Nov. 14, 2024) before Super Typhoon Pepito (international name Man-yi) hit the province on Saturday (Nov. 16). Experts say red skies signal the arrival of moisture-laden air and thickening clouds that indicate worsening weather conditions. (Photo courtesy of Encheca Aguilar)

DARAGA, Albay – When Encheca Aguilar saw the blood-red skies hovering over the fishing village in Toytoy, Caramoran town in the province of Catanduanes on Thursday, an eerie feeling washed over her.

“I love sunrises, but in that moment, I was overcome with fear, though I wasn’t quite sure why—maybe because it was the first time I had seen such a phenomenon,” she said in Filipino.

As a public school teacher from Virac town but assigned to teach in one of the sitios in the Palumbanes Islands, she said elderly locals advised her to leave the coastal community immediately so she wouldn’t be trapped by an upcoming storm.

“They told me that red skies are a bad omen. They said that when there is an impending storm, the sky often displays a beautiful scene,” she added.

In the province of Albay, the erratic behavior of birds swarming near its capitol on Friday also served as an ominous forewarning for Viveth Morcozo.

“Birds can sense disasters before they occur. Though many migratory birds visit Legazpi in November, there was something jarring about their frantic cacophony as they squawked in alarm,” she said.

“Their chaotic flight patterns also gave me a sense of looming danger. Nature has a way of warning us about what lies ahead so we can prepare in advance,” she added.

In a typhoon-prone region, science and culture converge as locals harness both the power of meteorological information from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration and traditional knowledge systems to prepare for, mitigate, and respond to the impacts of natural disasters.

Cedric Daep, Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office consultant on risk reduction management, underscored the importance of local and indigenous knowledge as they “help validate the data and information coming from instruments.”

With Super Typhoon Pepito (international name Man-yi) battering the Bicol region on Saturday, traditional local knowledge such as lores about weather patterns also aided in disaster preparedness.

Literature teacher Aleta Amador of Bicol University, who specializes in Bicol culture, said the power of traditional lore lies in its capacity to provide practical guidance about upcoming weather conditions.

“Weather lores are stories passed down by older generations to warn about potential disasters that might occur based on their own observation and experiences. While not all weather predictions are precise, many of these have scientific basis,” she said.

Weather lores

Amador said Bicol culture is replete with weather lore—from animal behavior and cloud patterns to the position and color of celestial bodies that speak volumes about the strong bond between humans and the natural environment.

She said long before the advent of contemporary meteorology, Bicolanos relied on their keen sense of observation for weather forecasting to help them prepare for disasters.

She added that lores reflect how people remember and assign meaning to specific weather types and patterns.

“Early Bicolanos turned to natural signs such as the drying up of wells and the anxious fleeing of animals such as wild pigs and chickens in the area around Mayon Volcano to predict if a volcanic eruption is imminent,” she explained.

“This local knowledge served as an early warning sign for those living at the foot of Mayon Volcano,” she added.

Similarly, she said that even today, many Bicolanos still believe that the migration of rats, frogs, and snakes to higher ground as they head for safety is a telltale sign of an impending natural calamity.

Echoing Daep’s assertion, she said weather lores can significantly contribute to disaster risk reduction in vulnerable communities when they are used to complement contemporary meteorological data.

Disaster preparedness

For Danilo Frondoso, 74, seeing photos of the red sunrise and the eerie flight of birds on social media further convinced him to place sandbags on their roof before heading to their barangay’s designated evacuation area, despite the sunny weather just hours before Super Typhoon Pepito hit Daraga town.

“It is better to be prepared,” he said in the vernacular, adding that back in 2006, before Typhoon Reming (international name Durian) made landfall, the weather was also relatively calm.

To date, Typhoon Reming remains one of the deadliest tropical cyclones to hit the province after its torrential rains and mudflows buried many villages and claimed many lives in Albay.

“Weather lores as part of our cultural heritage that serve as forewarnings to alert people to prepare for the impending crisis,” Amador said.

She added that by highlighting potential risks, they also heighten public awareness and encourage people to take early action to ensure their safety, thus enhancing community resilience. (With a report from Connie Calipay/PNA)

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