REGIONAL SUMMARY:
For the fifty-second week of 2022, a total of 35 disasters (23 floods, 7 landslides, and 5 wind-related) affected the region. Indonesia and the Philippines have reportedly been affected. Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB) reported floods and landslides caused by prolonged heavy rainfall and overflowing of rivers accompanied by strong winds in South Sulawesi, Central and East Java, Banten, and East Nusa Tenggara of Indonesia. The Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) has also released an updated report on the storms, flooding, strong winds, and rain-induced landslides resulting from the effects of a shear line in MIMAROPA, CARAGA, and BARMM. Heavy rains due to a low pressure area also affected Lanao del Norte in BARMM. According to the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), 15 December 2022 also marked the start of the dry season for the Northern ASEAN region.
HIGHLIGHT:
For the past week, according to BNPB, 19 disaster events have resulted in 325.4K persons affected, 5.2K internally displaced, and 75.4K houses damaged. The months of November to March are traditionally wet (the rainy season) for Java. The disasters were reportedly caused by extreme weather conditions (prolonged heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds) and the overflowing of rivers. The reported disaster events are within the capacity of BNPB and the local disaster management authorities. Necessary actions to address the victims’ needs as well as the situation (coordination, evacuation, rapid assessments, etc.) have been carried out by responsible agencies and authorities.
HYDRO-METEO-CLIMATOLOGICAL:
For the past week, data from the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) showed high 7-day average rainfall spreading across South Sumatra, Java, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua in Indonesia; the Eastern seaboard of the Philippines as well as Palawan. Relatively low rainfall can be observed for Mainland Southeast Asia attributed to the dry season as announced by the ASMC on 15 December 2022. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC), there are no active tropical cyclone advisories as of reporting.
GEOPHYSICAL:
Six (6) significant earthquakes (M?5.0) were recorded in the region by Indonesia’s Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG) and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). Mount Semeru (alert level III) in Indonesia, and Taal (alert level 1), Kanlaon (alert level 1), Bulusan (alert level 1), and Mayon Volcano (alert level 2) in the Philippines reported recent volcanic activity according to the Pusat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana Geologi (PVMBG) and PHIVOLCS.
OUTLOOK:
According to the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), for the coming week, wetter conditions are expected over the Northeastern Maritime Continent extending to the southeastern Mainland Southeast Asia. Cooler than usual temperatures is predicted over much of central and eastern Mainland Southeast Asia as well as much of the western and southern Maritime Continue. For the regional assessment of extremes, there is a small increase in chance for a heavy rainfall event to occur in Southern Viet Nam and Northern Philippines; and a low chance for extreme hot conditions. La Niña conditions have been present. At the seasonal timescale, La Niña events tend to bring wetter conditions to much of the ASEAN region.
Sources:
ASEAN Disaster Monitoring & Response System (DMRS); ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC); Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC);
Indonesia: BNPB, BMKG, PVMBG;
Philippines: NDRRMC, PHIVOLCS;
Various news agencies.
