Typhoon Haiyan

[Medic Mike]

Officials raise alarm over Philippines typhoon

Manila: Local government officials called for prayers and physical preparations as Tropical Storm “Haiyan”, with winds at peak intensity of 241km/h, was predicted to make a landfall in central Philippines on Friday, officials said.

Signal storm number 4 will be raised if Haiyan’s wind and gustiness will not weaken beyond 240km/h when it enters central Philippines on Thursday and makes landfall on Samar and Leyte in the Visayas on Friday, said the government-run Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), adding it will be locally called Typhoon Yolanda.

Because of strong winds, Typhoon Haiyan’s diameter will be wider. Its predicted upward-westward path as it cuts the entire Visayas horizontally, from the eastern seaboard, the Pacific Ocean, to the western seaboard, the South China Sea, will affect nearby areas such as the Bicol region and Laguna in southern Luzon, Pagasa said.

It might also hit Metro Manila if it moves west northwest, Pagasa said, adding it is expected to exit through Mindoro, in southern Luzon, at the western seaboard, towards the South China Sea either on Saturday or Sunday.

 

 

The disaster councils in Eastern and Central Visayas were advised to start pre-emptive evacuation and aim for zero casualty, said Flor Gaviola, administration officer of the Office of Civil Defence in region 7.

Schools, gymnasiums or multipurpose halls in safe places were identified as evacuation centres. They were inspected for destruction they might have sustained when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Bohol (central Philippines) last October 15, said Gaviola.

 

Related Links

• Evacuations in Philippines as typhoon approaches

 

Local government officials were advised to start a continuous monitoring of residents on riverbanks and in landslide-and flood-prone areas. “They should be transferred to safe places immediately with the onset of floods and landslides, after the arrival of the typhoon,” said Gaviola.

Fishermen in the Visayas were told early not to go fishing, said Rey Gozon, regional chair of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

All local disaster officials and rescue forces in the Bicol region were on red alert, said Governor Joey Salceda.

Heightened alert level was likewise raised in Mindoro, where the typhoon is expected to exit towards the South China Sea.

The Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) also dubbed Haiyan as a super typhoon.

Some 21 deadly typhoons visit the Philippines every year, from June to November.

 

 

Edited November 6, 2013 by Medic Mike

[Medic Mike]

Superstorm may hit Philippines

2013-11-06 14:52

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Philippine Coast Guard. (Jay Directo, AFP)

 

Manila - The Philippines evacuated coastal areas and put emergency workers on alert on Wednesday, as a storm expected to grow into a super typhoon headed towards the central islands still recovering from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit last month.

Typhoon Haiyan, with gusts of up to 185km/h, was moving over the sea at 30km/h and may make landfall at mid-day on Friday in the central islands of Samar and Leyte, said Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo.

"We are advising the people to secure their homes because we are expecting a powerful typhoon, a super typhoon," Montejo said.

"It's still in the Pacific but it has gained speed and may enter our area of responsibility by tomorrow [Thursday]."

Officials in the central Cebu, Bohol and Albay areas have closed schools, prepared emergency shelters and food and put emergency workers on alert.

"We're aiming for zero casualties so we sent advisories to local disaster agencies to start evacuating people from coastal and low-lying areas as well as those in landslide-prone areas," said Flor Gaviola, a regional disaster official.

Thousands of people on Bohol island are still in shelters after their homes were destroyed in an October earthquake that killed more than 200 people.
 

Edited November 6, 2013 by Medic Mike

[Medic Mike]

PH evacuates coastal areas ahead of super typhoon

Reuters

Posted at 11/06/2013 4:29 PM | Updated as of 11/06/2013 4:29 PM

MANILA - The Philippines evacuated coastal areas and put emergency workers on alert on Wednesday as a storm expected to grow into a super typhoon headed towards central islands still recovering from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit last month.

Typhoon Haiyan, with gusts of up to 185 kph (115 mph), was moving over the sea at 30 kph (18 mph) and may make landfall at mid-day on Friday in the central islands of Samar and Leyte, said Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo.

"We are advising the people to secure their homes because we are expecting a powerful typhoon, a super typhoon," Montejo said.

"It's still in the Pacific but it has gained speed and may enter our area of responsibility by tomorrow (Thursday)."

Officials in the central Cebu, Bohol and Albay areas have closed schools, prepared emergency shelters and food and put emergency workers on alert.

"We're aiming for zero casualties so we sent advisories to local disaster agencies to start evacuating people from coastal and low-lying areas as well as those in landslide-prone areas," said Flor Gaviola, a regional disaster official.

Thousands of people on Bohol island are still in shelters after their homes were destroyed in an Oct. 15 earthquake that killed more than 200 people.

About 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year.

Typhoon Bopha, the strongest storm to hit last year, flattened three coastal towns

 

Edited November 6, 2013 by Medic Mike

[Medic Mike]

NDRRMC prepared for 'Yolanda'

By Jorge Cariño, ABS-CBN News

Posted at 11/06/2013 5:57 PM | Updated as of 11/06/2013 5:57 PM

 

Agencies ordered to preposition resources

MANILA -- The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) expressed optimism on its preparedness for the incoming super typhoon "Yolanda," which is expected to hit Central Philippines on Friday afternoon.

During a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, who chairs the NDRRMC, announced that they have already drawn up a preparation and action plan.

Bohol province is a special concern for the NDRRMC because the island was severely damaged by the recent magnitude 7.2 quake.

Authorities were told by weather bureau PAGASA that Yolanda will not hit Bohol directly.

According to PAGASA Director Vic Malano, Yolanda is still in the Pacific Ocean, outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR), but is packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour (kph).

Malano said storms gain their strength while moving over the ocean.

Hospitals were already advised to evacuate their patients from the buildings and those who are staying in tents were advised to take a more sturdy shelter.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas said government is now trying to look for safer structures for quake victims in Bohol.

According to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), 83,203 packs of relief goods have already been prepositioned.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education (DepEd) cascaded instructions to school officials to coordinate with barangay officials so that plans can be made for possible conversion of schools into evacuation centers.

DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro said they gave instructions to shut off and unplug electrical equipment and secure the books.

So far, only Governor Joey Salceda of Albay and Governor Hilario Davide of Cebu have sent out word to NDRRMC on declaration of class suspension in all levels starting tomorrow in their respective localities.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), meanwhile is also prepositioning its equipment so that prompt and appropriate action can be made in an event that any road be deemed unpassable due to landslides, or fallen tress or power lines.

DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson also appealed to local electric cooperatives to conduct preemptive pruning on trees.

Experience, according to Singson, has taught them that electric posts are usually downed because of trees that get entangled with power lines.

Singson also said that DPWH engineers were also tasked to look for the possibility of tying down and boarding up the roofs of hospital and schools.

 

Edited November 6, 2013 by Medic Mike

[Medic Mike]

Super typhoon Yolanda stronger than Pablo: US military

by Jojo Malig, ABS-CBNNews.com

Posted at 11/06/2013 7:35 PM | Updated as of 11/06/2013 8:32 PM

Projected track of super typhoon Yolanda. Image courtesy of the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center

'Yolanda' now Category 4 cyclone: UNOCHA

MANILA (UPDATED) - Super typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) will be packing maximum sustained winds of around 268 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts reaching 324 kph when it slams into the Samar-Leyte area Friday, the US military's weather bureau said Wednesday.

In comparison, super typhoon Pablo had 259 kph sustained winds and 314 kph gusts when it hit Mindanao in December 2012, according to the Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) run by the US Navy and Air Force.

The JTWC expects Yolanda to reach peak strength today, November 6, and sustain its full Category 5 ferocity until it makes landfall.

The weather agency said the super typhoon is already carrying 250 kph maximum sustained winds and 305 kph gusts as it barrels toward the Philippines.

It expects the tropical cyclone to intensify further in the next 36 hours while it crosses the warm waters of the Philippine Sea.

"STY Haiyan (Yolanda) will make landfall just prior to TAU 48, over the Central Philippines. [it] will weaken as it tracks across the Philippine islands, but should emerge over the South China Sea as a 110 knot (203 kph) typhoon," the JTWC added.

State weather bureau PAGASA has yet to raise public storm warning signals in the country, as of posting Wednesday night, as the tropical cyclone is still out of the Philippine area of responsibility.

The weather bureau said storm signal number 4 could be raised in Bicol and eastern Visayas, where it is expected to make landfall.

"Nakikita natin na talagang malakas yung bagyo. Dapat maghanda tayo dahil pupwede po talagang mag-iissue tayo ng pinakamataas nating signal," PAGASA acting deputy administrator Flaviana Hilario said Wednesday.

"Iyung hangin na tatama dun sa isang lugar ay lalagpas sa 185 kph. Iyun pa lamang ay talagang delubyo na yung mangyayari dun sa area na tataasan natin ng signal number 4," said Robert Sawi, officer-in-charge of PAGASA's weather division.

Sawi said Yolanda's strong winds could be powerful enough to uproot large trees, topple electric posts, and tear roofs off houses.

"Iyung intensity na 185 kph, sobrang lakas na ito, baka halos wala nang matirang puno sa lugar," he said.

PAGASA doesn't have a super typhoon category and its measurements on the strength of cyclones differ from the JTWC and foreign agencies.

Close-up satellite image of super typhoon Yolanda. Image courtesy of the US Naval Research Lab

Philippines prepares 

Meantime, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) expressed optimism Wednesday on preparedness measures for the incoming super typhoon that is expected to hit central Philippines on Friday afternoon. 

The cyclone is expected to directly affect the Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and up to the Bicol Region. 

In a press briefing, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said that they have drawn up an action plan. 

Bohol province is a special concern for the NDRRMC because the communities on the island were severely affected by the recent magnitude 7.2 earthquake last October 15. 

Authorities were told by PAGASA that super typhoon Yolanda will not hit Bohol directly. 

PAGASA Director Vic Malano said Yolanda was still in the Pacific Ocean, outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility, and was packing sustained winds of 175 kph, based on the bureau's measurements. 

Malano said cyclones gain strength while moving across the ocean. 

The state weather bureau, in a press briefing Wednesday, said Yolanda could be strongest typhoon to hit the country this year. 

Hospitals in Bohol were advised to evacuate their patients from buildings, and those staying in tents were told to go to more sturdy shelters. 

The Bohol provincial government is now looking for new evacuation sites for people fleeing the cyclone's wrath. Most evacuation centers in the province were destroyed during the recent quake. 

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said the government is now trying to look for safer structures for quake victims in Bohol. 

The DSWD said 83,203 packs of relief goods are already pre-postioned in areas that will be hit by the super typhoon. 

The Department of Education, meanwhile, ordered school officials to coordinate with barangay officials for the possible conversion of schools into evacuation centers. 

So far, only Albay Governor Joey Salceda and Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide have sent word to the NDRRMC on the declaration of class suspensions in all levels starting Thursday in their respective areas. 

The DPWH is also pre-positioning equipment in areas on the supertyphoon's path. 

Romblon, meanwhile, has been placed on red alert, the provincial government said. 

Tony Salsona, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the move will help prepare Rombon which could be directly hit by the super typhoon. 

Fishermen in the province have also been barred from going out to sea. 

PAGASA satellite image of Yolanda.

UN on alert 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) also raised an alert Wednesday on the typhoon's impending landfall. 

It said Yolanda is now classified as a Category 4 cyclone as it moves towards the Philippines. 

"Various weather forecast models have compared Haiyan to Category 5 Typhoon Mike (locally known as Ruping) which hit the Philippines in November 1990," UNOCHA said. 

Ruping killed 508 people, destroyed 222,026 houses, and damaged 630,885 other houses. 

"The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim has offered to provide technical support in joint rapid needs assessment to the Executive Director of the NDRRMC which was welcomed," UNOCHA said in a statement. 

"A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is being deployed in close coordination with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management to enhance the capacity of the Humanitarian Country Team to support the government," it added. - with reports from Jorge Cariño and Jeff Canoy, ABS-CBN News; Dennis Datu

 

Edited November 6, 2013 by Medic Mike

[threadstone]

people here in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines is again ready for this kind of challenges.. we've been successful during bagyong pablo, and now, eto na naman.... sana zero casualty ulit....

[Medic Mike]

Philippines quake survivors face super-Typhoon Haiyan

 

 

 

 

BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A new superstorm,  expected to reach the Philippines on Friday morning, will bring maximum sustained winds of around 268 kms (167 miles) an hour, meteorologists said, stronger than a typhoon that caused widespread damage in the south of the country last December.

Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, is forecast to hit the archipelago’s central islands, which are still recovering from a 7.2 magnitude earthquake last month.

The quake on Oct. 15 killed 190 people, displaced 380,000 and affected over 3 million in the tourist destinations of Bohol and the nearby Cebu islands. 

"If Typhoon Yolanda continues at its current strength, its impact could be colossal, not only on those areas directly in its path, but also for nearby islands already battling to recover from last month's massive earthquake,” Bernd Schell, country representative in the Philippines for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

“Hundreds of thousands of people in Central Visayas saw their homes damaged or destroyed three weeks ago and many are living in evacuation centres or makeshift shelters – they are particularly vulnerable as the storm sweeps in,” he said.

Red Cross disaster response teams are on standby and volunteers are issuing safety advice and urging people to prepare for the typhoon, he said. 

About 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year. Aid agency Plan International said Haiyan was the 25^th typhoon to enter the Philippines Area of Responsibility (PAR) this year.

The Philippines is already grappling with the effects of several natural disasters and conflicts. Apart from the earthquake in Bohol, over 75,000 people remain displaced in Zamboanga in the south following September fighting between government troops and a breakaway faction of Muslim rebels.

At least four typhoons have caused widespread flooding and damage since August.

Last December Typhoon Bopha, the most intense storm to hit the Philippines in 2012, struck eastern parts of Mindanao island in the south, killing more than 1,800 people, damaging 210,000 homes and affecting over 6 million people.

Edited November 6, 2013 by Medic Mike

[Medic Mike]

Editorial: Typhoons through the years

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

MALLS experienced brisk sales yesterday for items like food and flashlights and batteries. That shows conscious effort by a good number of people to prepare for the coming of typhoon Yolanda that, if forecasts are correct, would hit land, possibly the islands of Samar and Leyte, tomorrow.

The description of Yolanda as a super-typhoon must have so evoked memories of the worst typhoons that hit the country in the past decades that people have learned to brace for the worst. It also helped that concerned agencies have come up with advisories on typhoon readiness.

Estimates on Yolanda’s maximum sustained winds as it hits a land mass in the Philippines vary a bit, but there’s an agreement that it would be in the vicinity of more than 200 kilometers per hour. On this, we need to consider context.

The strongest typhoon to hit the country was Reming, which hit the country in 2006 via Catanduanes packing maximum sustained winds of 320 kph. The website typhoon2000.ph described the damage wrought by Reming on places in its path:

“Ferocious winds left almost nothing of Rapu-Rapu and Batan islands, stripped-off the forests of Catanduanes, destroying 80 percent of all its houses and buildings, and ramming ships and tankers aground.”

On the other hand, Ruping, the typhoon we Cebuanos are all familiar with, packed maximum sustained winds of 220 kph.

“The howler rampaged Mactan island, destroying and almost leveling all houses in…Cordova nearby, smashing and sinking ships in the harbor,” the same website said of Ruping, adding that Metro Cebu was later left “helpless without electricity and drinking water amidst the terrible debris everywhere.”

But there were also instances when strong storms weakened when these hit land or when these changed direction, sparing Cebu. Typhoon Pablo, which packed maximum sustained winds of 259 kph, hit Mindanao in December last year, was forecast to be going in the direction of Cebu but eventually veered away from the province.

What is different from preparations done today for the arrival of typhoons compared with, say, a decade ago, is that information about their movement is more extensive, thanks to advances in technology and communications.

This, hopefully, should help us prepare well and thus lessen the damage and loss of lives that Yolanda will bring to the country.

 

 

 

 

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on November 07, 2013.

Edited November 6, 2013 by Medic Mike

[Jake]

Hey Medic Mike,

 

Thank you for the updated warning of this super typhoon, which hopefully will be the last one for the season.

There have many posts suggesting how to prepare ourselves in the event where your life and property are

in jeopardy.  I mentioned a bug out bag, establishing a safe meeting place to count heads and knowing all

the escape routes from flooding or fire.

 

You live and work in an emergency environment in and around Cebu area.  Any suggestions on what else to

pack or think about before your neighborhood is washed away?  

 

Respectfully -- Jake

[Medic Mike]

Hey Medic Mike,

 

Thank you for the updated warning of this super typhoon, which hopefully will be the last one for the season.

There have many posts suggesting how to prepare ourselves in the event where your life and property are

in jeopardy.  I mentioned a bug out bag, establishing a safe meeting place to count heads and knowing all

the escape routes from flooding or fire.

 

You live and work in an emergency environment in and around Cebu area.  Any suggestions on what else to

pack or think about before your neighborhood is washed away?  

 

Respectfully -- Jake

The biggest problem we have in Cebu, and I am sure it will happen this time as well if we get clobbered by Yolanda, is that people wait too long before they get themselves and their families to the evacuations centres. If forum members have local family members, and things are looking like the typhoon is going to hit, do not wait till the last minute, but get to the centres.

 

The low income areas are the worst, they wait far too long before they leave their shacks. The last place you want to be is out in the open with a 220kph typhoon.