One of world's strongest storms lashes Philippines
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| In this image provided by NOAA Friday Nov. 8, 2013 which was taken at 12:30 a.m. EST shows Typhoon Haiyan as it crosses the Philippines. One of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded slammed into the Philippines on Friday, setting off landslides, knocking out power in one entire province and cutting communications in the country's central region of island provinces. Weather officials say that Haiyan had sustained winds at 235 kilometers (147 miles) per hour, with gusts of 275 kph (170 mph) when it made landfall. |
MANILA,
Philippines (AP) -- One of the strongest storms on record slammed
into the central Philippines, killing at least four people, forcing
hundreds of thousands from their homes and knocking out power and
communications in several provinces. But the nation appeared to avoid a
major disaster because the rapidly moving typhoon blew away before
wreaking more damage, officials said.
Typhoon
Haiyan left the Philippines early Saturday on a path toward Southeast
Asia, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tweeted.
Forecasters said the storm was expected to pick up renewed strength over
the South China Sea on its way toward Vietnam.
Nearly 750,000 people in the Philippines were forced to flee their homes.
Weather
officials said Haiyan had sustained winds of 235 kph (147 mph) with
gusts of 275 kph (170 mph) when it made landfall. By those measurements,
Haiyan would be comparable to a strong Category 4 hurricane in the
U.S., nearly in the top category, a 5.
Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are the same thing. They are just called different names in different parts
of the world.
Because
of cut-off communications in the Philippines, it was impossible to know
the full extent of casualties and damage. At least two people were
electrocuted in storm-related accidents, one person was killed by a
fallen tree and another was struck by lightning, official reports said.
Southern Leyte Gov. Roger Mercado said the typhoon ripped roofs off houses and triggered landslides that blocked roads.
The dense clouds and heavy rains made the day seem almost as dark as night, he said.
"When
you're faced with such a scenario, you can only pray, and pray and
pray," Mercado told The Associated Press by telephone, adding that
mayors in the province had not called in to report any major damage.
"I
hope that means they were spared and not the other way around," he
said. "My worst fear is there will be massive loss of lives and
property."
Eduardo del Rosario, head of the
disaster response agency, said the speed at which the typhoon sliced
through the central islands - 40 kph (25 mph) - helped prevent its
600-kilometer (375-mile) band of rain clouds from dumping enough of
their load to overflow waterways. Flooding from heavy rains is often the
main cause of deaths from typhoons.
"It has
helped that the typhoon blew very fast in terms of preventing lots of
casualties," regional military commander Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda said.
He said the massive evacuation of villagers before the storm also saved
many lives.
The Philippines, which is hit by
about 20 typhoons and storms a year, has in recent years become more
serious about preparations to reduce deaths. Public service
announcements are frequent, as are warnings by the president and
high-ranking officials that are regularly carried on radio and TV and
social networking sites.
President Benigno
Aquino III assured the public of war-like preparations, with three C-130
air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on
standby, along with 20 navy ships.
Among the
evacuees were thousands of residents of Bohol who had been camped in
tents and other makeshift shelters since a magnitude-7.2 earthquake hit
the island province last month.
Relief workers
said they were struggling to find ways to deliver food and other
supplies, with roads blocked by landslides and fallen trees.
World
weather experts were calling the typhoon one of the strongest tropical
cyclones on record at the time it hit land, but not quite the windiest.
There were disputes over just how strong it is because of differences in
the way storms are measured.
"In terms of the
world I don't think it's the strongest," said Taoyang Peng, a tropical
cyclone scientist at the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva.
But he added that "it is one of the strongest typhoons to make landfall"
and probably the strongest to hit the Philippines.
The
U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center put Haiyan's sustained winds at 315
kph (196 mph) just minutes before it made landfall Thursday, which would
be a world record. However, officials in Tokyo and the Philippines but
the wind speed at about 235 kph (147 mph).
Peng said his group considers Tokyo the authority in this case because it's the closest regional center to the storm.
The
best way to measure a storm is with radar from a plane flying in and
out of it. That's not done in Asia, where they use satellite imagery and
ground measurements instead.
Not until
meteorologists can conduct a deep investigation will scientists know
just how strong Haiyan actually was, but it will easily be one of the
strongest on record, former U.S. National Hurricane Center director Max
Mayfield told the AP on Friday.
Mayfield described looking at radar images of Haiyan, saying, "it has got to weaken, it has got to weaken" - and yet it didn't.
