Tino, Uwan among 7 newly retired Philippine tropical cyclone names

2026-03-19 - 15:00

MANILA, Philippines – Out of the 23 tropical cyclone names used in the Philippines in 2025, seven have now been retired for causing devastation. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) announced on Thursday, March 19, that it has decommissioned these local names: Crising Emong Mirasol Nando Opong Tino Uwan Citing the Office of Civil Defense, PAGASA said the seven tropical cyclones combined left 373 people dead, 680 injured, and 132 missing. They also caused damage totaling over P36 billion. Most of the fatalities — more than 250 — were because of Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi) in November. Tino unleashed torrential rain and destructive winds as it made landfall eight times, with the province of Cebu and the Negros Island Region suffering the most deaths. Extensive damage was reported as well. Super Typhoon Uwan (Fung-wong), the tropical cyclone that immediately followed Tino, was extremely large and had a diameter that reached more than 1,800 kilometers at its peak. The Department of Agriculture’s final bulletin on Uwan showed that the cost of damage to agriculture alone reached P14.12 billion, covering 10 regions. Before Tino and Uwan, Super Typhoon Nando (Ragasa) battered Northern Luzon and Central Luzon, while Typhoon Opong (Bualoi) drenched many areas in Luzon and the Visayas, both in September. During that same month, Tropical Depression Mirasol also crossed Northern Luzon. Back in July, Typhoon Emong (Co-may) affected Northern Luzon and Central Luzon, while Severe Tropical Storm Crising (Wipha) passed close to Northern Luzon and enhanced the southwest monsoon or habagat. PAGASA retires the local name of a tropical cyclone when it causes at least 300 deaths and/or P1 billion worth of damage to agriculture and infrastructure. A retired name is replaced by another name starting with the same letter. The weather bureau will be using the following replacements for the seven names retired from 2025: Chico Elias Magyawan Nilad Omar Tala Urbano Those replacement names will be used starting 2029, and every four years thereafter — unless they are also retired. PAGASA has four sets of local tropical cyclone names that are used alternately. View the names for 2026 here. – Rappler.com