Several posts on Facebook are erroneously claiming that a new super typhoon named Verbena is going to hit the Philippines not long after super typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-wong) devastated various regions in the country. This is not true.
The posts spreading the false claim were published on Nov. 10. One of the posts bore the following text:
“HINDI PA MAN NAKAKALAYO SI “UWAN,” MAY ISA NA NAMANG POSIBLENG SUPER TYPHOON NA PAPARATING! Habang hindi pa tuluyang nakakalabas ng bansa si Super Typhoon #UwanPH, namataan naman gamit ang satellite image sa labas ng Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) ang isa pang malakas na sama ng panahon.
(Typhoon Uwan has not yet moved away entirely and another possible super typhoon is coming! While Typhoon #UwanPH is still inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility, a satellite image spotted an emerging typhoon in PAR).”
There are currently no new tropical cyclones forming in the Philippine Area of Responsibility, according to forecasts by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
A day after these posts with the false claims emerged, PAGASA weather specialist John Manalo said “there is a very low chance of a typhoon forming” although he added the possibility of a typhoon forming east of Visayas and Mindanao in the next two weeks, between Nov. 11 and 24.
On Friday, Nov. 14, there were still no tropical depressions forming in or near PAR. Benison Estareja, another PAGASA weather specialist, gave this report in Filipino: “Based on our latest satellite animations, we’re not detecting any low pressure areas or clouds that might become storms in the next six days.”
But Estareja added that certain regions in Visayas and Mindanao may experience scattered rains and thunderstorms due to the intertropical convergence zone, the line where winds from the north and southern hemisphere meet.
Manalo did say that any new typhoon that will form in the area will be named Verbena, which is highly likely where the spurious posts got the name from.
These erroneous posts continue to circulate after Uwan weakened into a tropical depression north of Batanes and eventually dissolved, according to PAGASA’s weather reports on Nov. 13 and 14.
FB pages DeepScoopp PH (created on Nov. 20, 2020), Angel Vlogs (Sept. 1, 2023) and Bantay Panahon (Aug. 28, 2024) published the same untrue claim, collectively garnering over 20,500 reactions, 3,300 comments and 12,700 shares.