 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Philippines on high alert ahead of Typhoon Lupit
Manila (AFP) Oct 19, 2009 The Philippine military deployed boats and helicopters to the north of the country on Monday, as officials warned Typhoon Lupit could cause more devastation after two storms claimed nearly 1,000 lives. The typhoon was not due to hit the main island of Luzon until Thursday, but authorities were on full alert as the region was still struggling to recover from the twin storms that caused massive flooding and deadly landslides. "We have been pre-positioning food and transportation assets in areas likely to be hit by the typhoon," Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters. The navy said it had sent 18 rubber boats, as well as trucks, amphibious vehicles and helicopters to northern areas of Luzon. The army said troops from its engineering units were also being deployed to the north, while the air force said rescue helicopters had already been sent to areas in Lupit's projected path. Chief government weather forecaster Prisco Nilo said Lupit was expected to bring torrential rains and strong winds that could cause major damage to Luzon's northeast coast. Nilo said Lupit could dump about 20 to 25 millimetres (0.78 to 0.98 inches) of rain an hour. "These are torrential rains, heavy rains... that can cause flooding and landslides," he warned. He said Lupit was picking up intensity with winds of up to 195 kilometres (120 miles) an hour. On Monday afternoon it was 1,070 kilometres east of Cagayan province in the Pacific Ocean and expected to make landfall in northern Luzon on Thursday. However it could start bringing bad weather to the region a day earlier, he said. "We are all on alert," Philippine National Red Cross secretary general Gwen Pang told AFP, as she detailed efforts to stockpile relief goods close to areas that are expected to be affected by Lupit. She also said residents of communities in the path of the storm may be required to evacuate from Tuesday. Teodoro said mayors in mountainous regions in the north had been asked to convince their constituents to move to safer areas away from potential landslides. Although about 20 typhoons pass over the Philippines a year, the past month has been particularly brutal for the Southeast Asian nation. On September 26 tropical storm Ketsana dumped the heaviest rains in more than four decades on Manila and surrounding areas of the capital, killing 420 people and causing nearly 100 more deaths from ensuing disease outbreaks. Typhoon Parma hit further north in Luzon exactly a week later and hovered over the region for a week as a tropical storm, triggering landslides and floods that left at least 438 people dead. strs-jvg/kma/pst Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters When the Earth Quakes A world of storm and tempest
Hurricane Rick weakens to Category 4 storm: forecastersMiami (AFP) Oct 18, 2009 Monster Hurricane Rick weakened slightly late Sunday and was downgraded to a Category 4 storm as it barreled up Mexico's Pacific coast. But US forecsters still called it "extremely dangerous." "Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 145 miles (230 kilometers) per hour with higher gusts," the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. "Rick is a Category Four hurricane ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2009 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook