Deadly Typhoon Haiyan / Yolanda lashes Philippines By ABC reporter Sarah Dingle, Shirley Escalante in Manila and staff Super typhoon Haiyan / Yolanda makes landfall in Philippines (ABC News) Typhoon Haiyan hits Philippines At least three people are dead after Typhoon Haiyan, the worlds strongest storm of the year, made landfall in the Philippines. Schools and offices have been closed in the path of the storm, and thousands of people have been evacuated amid fears of serious damage. Haiyan was recorded packing winds of up to 314 kilometres an hour as it made landfall earlier today. Television pictures already reveal widespread damage to parts of the central Philippines and authorities are warning of floods and landslides. Ten million people are estimated to be in the path of the typhoon, and half-a-million people have already been evacuated. The head of the Philippines Red Cross, Gwendolyn Pang, has told Asia Pacific even those who have sought emergency shelter are still at risk. Even people in evacuation centres - we are not quite sure if theyre safe because the wind is very strong, she said. We have seen in the previous disasters - especially typhoons - still evacuation centres are not really safe for the people. Were trying our best to continue to monitor the situation...but its so huge - so big. Ms Pang says the wind is making any aid efforts difficult. The challenge now is how are we going to continue to support the people in the next few hours or days because...our the wind is very strong and our activities are very limited at the moment, she said. Fallen tree blocks road in Irosin, Sorsogon Photo: Power has been cut in some areas of Sorsogon province. (Twitter: Johnson Manabat @johnsonmanabat) Carin van den Hor, country director for aid agency Plan International, says her staff are scared. My staff is reporting very heavy winds, up to 235 kilometres an hour so you can imagine how scary that is, she said. We see toppled electricity poles, we see toppled trees, we see landslides, we see damaged houses, roofs flying off buildings. Ms van den Hor told the ABC that people are evacuating to higher ground but there is almost nowhere to go because the (typhoons) diametre is 600 kilometres. There is about three to four million people who are going to be affected by this typhoon, and thats a conservative estimate, she said. Were mostly worried about people in more remote areas. We think that people in the town centres are pretty well prepared because the information has reached them. But there is always going to be pockets of very poor, very remote villages that either may not have been reached in time or where people simply have not wanted to evacuate. There is about three to four million people who are going to be affected by this typhoon, and thats a conservative estimate. Carin van der Hor, country director of Plan International Philippines The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) says Super Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, made landfall at 4.40am local time over Guiuan, Eastern Samar in Philippines. Authorities say the typhoon could cause major damage across a vast area of the central and southern Philippines. This is a very dangerous typhoon, state weather forecaster Glaiza Escullar said. There are not too many mountains on its path to deflect the force of impact, making it more dangerous. Local officials know where the vulnerable areas are and have given instructions on evacuations. Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda approaches the PhilippinesInfographic: Super Typhoon Haiyan / Yolanda approaches the Philippines (NOAA ) In Bohol province, 5,000 people living in tents after they lost their homes in a magnitude 7.2 earthquake last month have been moved to temporary shelters. At least 1,000 people on an island off Masbate province have been marooned by stormy weather and large waves reaching seven meters high. Schools in the capital Manila have been closed and university classes cancelled. President Benigno Aquino has appeared on national television to warn the people of floods and landslides Sea travel and flights have been suspended, and schools have been closed in the central region. An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year. A super typhoon is one in which the wind speeds are twice as powerful as the point at which a storm becomes a typhoon. Bopha, last years strongest storm, flattened three coastal towns on the southern island of Mindanao, killing 1,100 people. Typhoon Haiyan pounded Palau and parts of Micronesia early Thursday morning, destroying homes and forcing the evacuation of a remote island in Palau abc.net.au/news/2013-11-08/an-worlds-most-powerful-typhoon-makes-landfall-in-philippines/5078216
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 05:06:33 +0000
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