Sierra Madre protected Luzon from worse amid Super Typhoon Pepito – PAGASA

Tabuk City, Kalinga – Super Typhoon Pepito has left serious damage in Luzon, but one could not imagine how things would have turned out if the Sierra Madre Mountain Range was not there to protect the island.

Pepito ravaged the Philippines and made landfall twice – first in Catanduanes on November 16, then in Aurora the following day, November 17.

With maximum sustained winds of 195 km/h during its first landfall and 185 km/h on its second, the super typhoon uprooted trees, brought down power lines, destroyed houses and infrastructures, submerged many communities in flood, and triggered landslides in many places.

Among the casualties recorded include the seven individuals who were buried by a landslide in Nueva Vizcaya amid the storm.

Things could have been worse on the island had it not been for the Sierra Madre, the longest mountain range in the country, which serves as the backbone of Luzon.

In an interview with the media, PAGASA Officer-in-charge Juanito Galang said that the mountain range spanning from Cagayan in the north to Quezon in the south minimized the impact of Pepito as the latter crossed the uplands of the Sierra Madre.  

“Nakakatulong ‘yan and then ang isa pang factor noon sa pag hina niya, nasa lupa na siya, yung moisture na nae-enhance ng bagyong si Pepito unti-unting nababawasan kung ikukumpara natin habang nasa dagat siya,” he was quoted saying.

The Sierra Madre has long been attributed to have been protecting Luzon from severe impacts of typhoons from the Pacific Ocean, reportedly slowing down storms and ensuring more rainfall distribution.

Recently, more calls for the preservation of the Sierra Madre mountain ranges have been made.