Tue 28 May
Philippines and El Nino
Getting prepared

MANILA - A drought brought on by the El Nino phenomenon is expected to hit 22 provinces in the Philippines this year, with rainfall to drop by about 20 percent below normal, President Gloria Arroyo's spokesman said Tuesday.

The El Nino episode is likely to arrive in October and last until June of next year, although its effects in the Philippines could still be considered "mild," Press Secretary Silvestre Afable said. He added:

The department is preparing for a worst case scenario of above 20 percent below normal rainfall afecting 43 provinces. On that basis, the government has earmarked some 2.8 billion pesos (54.9 million dollars) to counter the effects of the El Nino, with most of the funds going to priority projects like irrigation.

Arroyo, in a cabinet meeting earlier Tuesday, instructed the agriculture department to submit an irrigation plan for areas most vulnerable to drought, Afable said.

The president wants to get into details of how this problem is going to be faced at the ground level,

he stressed, adding Arroyo had also instructed the weather and defense departments to conduct cloud seedings to artificially induce rain.

El Nino, characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off Ecuador and northern Peru, occurs every few years and usually induces rains and floods on coastlines in South America and brings severe drought to the western rim of the Pacific.