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Typhoon Goni hits Philippines with 350,000 in evacuation shelters

from The Associated Press

Typhoon Goni hits Philippines with 350,000 in evacuation shelters

Authorities report four deaths, power outages, flash floods and infrastructure damage as the strongest storm this year passes over main island

Residents are evacuated from coastal villages in Buhi town, Camarines Sur province, south of Manila ahead of Typhoon Goni’s landfall. — Residents are evacuated from coastal villages in Buhi town, Camarines Sur province, south of Manila ahead of Typhoon Goni’s landfall. Photograph: Philippine Coast Guard/AFP/Getty ImagesSuper typhoon Goni has killed four people in the Philippines after ferocious winds caused power outages and infrastructure damage. About 350,000 people were evacuated from its projected path, including in the capital, Manila, where the main international airport was ordered closed.Goni made two landfall in two places in the Bicol region, where four deaths were reported, said provincial Governor Al Francis Bichara, including one hit by a tree and a five-year-old washed away after a river overflowed.

Video footage by news channels and on social media showed rivers overflowing and some dikes destroyed, submerging villages in Bicol.

Bichara also received reports of volcanic mud flows, as well as electricity supply and communication service outages.

In Quezon, Governor Danilo Suarez said power supply was cut in 10 towns as Goni toppled trees.

Between 19 million and 31 million people could be affected by the typhoon, including those in danger zones and in metropolitan Manila, the disaster management agency said.

“There are so many people who are really in vulnerable areas,” said Ricardo Jalad, who heads the government’s disaster-response agency. “We’re expecting major damage.”

The storm hit in the early hours of the morning with sustained winds of 215 km/h (133 mph)and gusts of 290 km/h (180 mph). It was blowing west toward densely populated regions, including Manila, and rain-soaked provinces still recovering from a typhoon that hit a week ago and left at least 22 dead.

Within the next 12 hours, catastrophic violent winds and intense to torrential rainfall associated with the region of the eye wall and inner rain bands of the typhoon will be experienced,” the Philippine weather agency said in an urgent advisory.

It said Catanduanes and four other provinces will be first hit, including Albay, where tens of thousands of villagers have been moved to safety, especially near the active Mayon volcano, where mudflows have caused deaths during past storms. Residents have been warned of likely landslides, massive flooding, storm surges of more than 5 metres (16 ft) and ferocious wind that can blow away poor dwellings.

One of the most powerful typhoons in the world this year, Goni has evoked memories of Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, which left more than 7,300 people dead and missing, flattened entire villages, swept ships inland and displaced more than five million in the central Philippines.

Some 347,00 people were pre-emptively moved into emergency shelters, mostly schools and government buildings. He warned of storm surges that could inundate coastal villages, including in Manila Bay.

Forecasters said the typhoon’s eye may hit or graze metropolitan Manila, the densely populated capital region of more than 13 million, late on Sunday to early on Monday and asked the public to brace for the worst. The typhoon may considerably weaken after it hits the Sierra Madre mountain range, then cross the main northern Luzon island toward the South China Sea.

Manila’s main airport was ordered shut down for 24 hours from Sunday to Monday and airlines cancelled dozens of international and domestic flights. The military and national police, along with the coastguard and firefighters, have been put on full alert.

Heavy rain brought by Typhoon Goni in Sorsogon City in the Philippines on Sunday. Photograph: Rick Go Esguerra/Reuters

About 1,000 Covid-19 patients were moved to hospitals and hotels from tent quarantine and treatment centres in the capital and the northern province of Bulacan, Jalad said. More emergency shelters would be opened than usual to avoid congestion that can rapidly spark infections.

The typhoon preparations will further strain government resources, which have been drained by months of coronavirus outbreaks, which prompted the government to set up isolation and treatment centres when hospitals were overwhelmed and provide aid to more than 20 million poor Filipinos.

The Philippines has reported more than 380,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases, the second-highest in south-east Asia, with 7,221 deaths.

Displaced villagers may have to stay longer in evacuation centres even after Goni passes, due to another storm brewing in the Pacific that may affect the Philippines in a few days, Jalad said.

The Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms a year. It’s also located in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a seismically active region around the Pacific where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common, making the impoverished nation of more than 100 million people one of the world’s most disaster-prone.

Heavy rain brought by Typhoon Goni in Sorsogon City in the Philippines on Sunday. — Residents are evacuated from coastal villages in Buhi town, Camarines Sur province, south of Manila ahead of Typhoon Goni’s landfall. Photograph: Philippine Coast Guard/AFP/Getty ImagesSuper typhoon Goni has killed four people in the Philippines after ferocious winds caused power outages and infrastructure damage. About 350,000 people were evacuated from its projected path, including in the capital, Manila, where the main international airport was ordered closed.Goni made two landfall in two places in the Bicol region, where four deaths were reported, said provincial Governor Al Francis Bichara, including one hit by a tree and a five-year-old washed away after a river overflowed.

Video footage by news channels and on social media showed rivers overflowing and some dikes destroyed, submerging villages in Bicol.

Bichara also received reports of volcanic mud flows, as well as electricity supply and communication service outages.

In Quezon, Governor Danilo Suarez said power supply was cut in 10 towns as Goni toppled trees.

Between 19 million and 31 million people could be affected by the typhoon, including those in danger zones and in metropolitan Manila, the disaster management agency said.

“There are so many people who are really in vulnerable areas,” said Ricardo Jalad, who heads the government’s disaster-response agency. “We’re expecting major damage.”

The storm hit in the early hours of the morning with sustained winds of 215 km/h (133 mph)and gusts of 290 km/h (180 mph). It was blowing west toward densely populated regions, including Manila, and rain-soaked provinces still recovering from a typhoon that hit a week ago and left at least 22 dead.

Within the next 12 hours, catastrophic violent winds and intense to torrential rainfall associated with the region of the eye wall and inner rain bands of the typhoon will be experienced,” the Philippine weather agency said in an urgent advisory.

It said Catanduanes and four other provinces will be first hit, including Albay, where tens of thousands of villagers have been moved to safety, especially near the active Mayon volcano, where mudflows have caused deaths during past storms. Residents have been warned of likely landslides, massive flooding, storm surges of more than 5 metres (16 ft) and ferocious wind that can blow away poor dwellings.

One of the most powerful typhoons in the world this year, Goni has evoked memories of Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, which left more than 7,300 people dead and missing, flattened entire villages, swept ships inland and displaced more than five million in the central Philippines.

Some 347,00 people were pre-emptively moved into emergency shelters, mostly schools and government buildings. He warned of storm surges that could inundate coastal villages, including in Manila Bay.

Forecasters said the typhoon’s eye may hit or graze metropolitan Manila, the densely populated capital region of more than 13 million, late on Sunday to early on Monday and asked the public to brace for the worst. The typhoon may considerably weaken after it hits the Sierra Madre mountain range, then cross the main northern Luzon island toward the South China Sea.

Manila’s main airport was ordered shut down for 24 hours from Sunday to Monday and airlines cancelled dozens of international and domestic flights. The military and national police, along with the coastguard and firefighters, have been put on full alert.

Heavy rain brought by Typhoon Goni in Sorsogon City in the Philippines on Sunday. Photograph: Rick Go Esguerra/Reuters

About 1,000 Covid-19 patients were moved to hospitals and hotels from tent quarantine and treatment centres in the capital and the northern province of Bulacan, Jalad said. More emergency shelters would be opened than usual to avoid congestion that can rapidly spark infections.

The typhoon preparations will further strain government resources, which have been drained by months of coronavirus outbreaks, which prompted the government to set up isolation and treatment centres when hospitals were overwhelmed and provide aid to more than 20 million poor Filipinos.

The Philippines has reported more than 380,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases, the second-highest in south-east Asia, with 7,221 deaths.

Displaced villagers may have to stay longer in evacuation centres even after Goni passes, due to another storm brewing in the Pacific that may affect the Philippines in a few days, Jalad said.

The Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms a year. It’s also located in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a seismically active region around the Pacific where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common, making the impoverished nation of more than 100 million people one of the world’s most disaster-prone.

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info@wepix.site2020-11-01T14:03:26+00:00November 1st, 2020|News|0 Comments

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