On the night of Wednesday, November 5, 2008, it was reported that there was a low pressure that was being formed in Surigao. However, at 6:15 in the morning the next day (Thursday) Southern Leyte started to feel the strong winds with the heavy rains.

I checked the internet and even waited for the flash report from the local TV Station but there was no report about a typhoon.

At 8:30 AM, I roamed around the city of Maasin and found out that classes from Elementary to College were not suspended. Then I checked again the PAGASA forecast and I learned that there was no typhoon yet, but just the low pressure area in Surigao.

However, the strong winds and the heavy rains that the city of Maasin experienced made me wonder if the Low Pressure Area was still Low Pressure Area and was never became a typhoon. My friends in the Pacific area of Southern Leyte told me that they were experiencing strong winds and heavy rains and some trees along the highway were already uprooted.

At 9:00 AM, I checked again the internet for any weather forecast, but found no update.

At 10:00 AM the wind started to weaken. But this time, PAGASA raised the storm signal to signal number 1 in the Visayas area, including Leyte, for the Typhoon “Quinta”.

Again, I was wondering why the PAGASA was late to raise the storm signal to number 1 in Leyte when in fact the typhoon “Quinta” actually started to show its presence in Leyte early morning of that day. And then when PAGASA raised the storm signal to number 1 in Visayas area, including Leyte, the strength of the wind actually started to weaken already.

Anyway, there was no serious damage left by the Typhoon “Quinta” here in Southern Leyte. However, if PAGASA will always be late in raising the storm signal to the appropriate level to certain areas, I think, there will be more serious damages (casualty and death) that will happen in affected areas.

- Sustines Laplana (November 7, 2008)

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