‘Tisoy’ retired as name of tropical cyclone
by By Ellalyn De Vera-RuizDestructive typhoon “Tisoy” (international name: Kammuri) will soon be retired by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) from its list of tropical cyclone names due to the cyclone’s massive damage to infrastructure and agriculture.
Decommissioning names from the list of tropical cyclone names depends on the cost of damages to infrastructure and agriculture, which should amount to P1 billion and/or over 300 casualties, according to PAGASA weather specialist Ariel Rojas.
As of Monday, the amount of infrastructure and agricultural damage due to typhoon “Tisoy” has reached P4.589 billion. This was incurred in Central and Southern Luzon, Bicol Region, and Western Visayas.
Meanwhile, “Tisoy” left five people dead.
Considering that the amount of damage to agriculture and infrastructure exceeded P1 billion, Rojas said PAGASA will likely decommission or retire the name “Tisoy” from its list of tropical cyclone names.
So far, “Tisoy” is the only tropical cyclone that will be retired this year.
The decommissioning of “extraordinarily destructive storms” has been practiced by PAGASA since February 1979.
PAGASA’s list of tropical cyclone names consists of four sets of 25 names, with 10 auxillary or “reserved” names. In the event that the number of tropical cyclones within the year exceeds 25, an auxiliary list is used.
The sets of names are used every four years, from 2019-2022, 2023-2026, 2027-2030, and so on.