The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Monday, April 22, expressed doubts that cloud-seeding caused the heavy rainfall that resulted to floods in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Dr. Nathaniel Servando, administrator of PAGASA, pointed out that the National Center of Meteorology in the UAE denied conducting cloud-seeding operations before the heavy deluge.
Servando stressed that a weather system brought rains throughout the Middle East region, and not just in the UAE.
"Tinitignan din namin ang cloud system. Talagang may weather system na dumaan hindi lang sa UAE, actually. Maging sa bansang Bahrain, or nearby countries like Qatar," he said.
"Nagkataon lang na sa Dubai, malakas ang buhos ng ulan. Sabi nga nila, mala-Ondoy pero short lived kasi in less than two hours lang ang ulan," the PAGASA official added.
Servando also mentioned that UAE lacks an "efficient drainage system" that could handle the heavy rainfall.
The PAGASA offical remarked that UAE experienced up to 254 millimetres of rainfall in less than 24 hours when the Middle East state normally observes 10 millimetres of rainfall in April.
Authorities confirmed last April 19 that four people, including three overseas Filipino workers, perished due to the heavy rains and floods that devastated UAE.
