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Thousands flee homes as typhoon draws near
Source: Agencies |
September 27, 2011, Tuesday
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AUTHORITIES ordered more than 100,000 people to flee their homes yesterday as a large typhoon blew closer to the northern Philippines, forcing the cancellation of dozens of domestic flights and ferry services.
Typhoon Nesat strengthened at sea before its expected landfall early today in eastern Aurora province with winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour. With its immense 650 kilometer cloud band, it threatened foul weather across the entire main Luzon island, forecasters said.
Heavy downpours and wind yesterday prompted the government to shut schools in the capital, Manila, while airlines canceled about 40 flights to central and eastern parts of the Philippine archipelago.
The coast guard also grounded inter-island ferries, stranding many travelers.
About 112,000 people were ordered to leave their homes in five towns prone to flash floods and landslides in Albay province. More than 50,000 had fled to government-run evacuation centers and relatives' homes by noon.
Authorities were closely watching farming communities at the base of Mayon volcano in Albay, southeast of Manila.
Tons of ash have been deposited on Mayon's slopes by past eruptions, and mudslides caused by a typhoon in 2006 buried entire villages, leaving about 1,600 people dead and missing.
The typhoon bore down on the Philippines exactly two years after nearly 500 people died in the worst flooding in decades in the capital. Residents offered prayers and planted trees yesterday to remember people who died while saving other residents during the 2009 disaster.
Nesat is expected to enter the South China Sea late tomorrow or early Thursday and head toward southern China.
Typhoon Nesat strengthened at sea before its expected landfall early today in eastern Aurora province with winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour. With its immense 650 kilometer cloud band, it threatened foul weather across the entire main Luzon island, forecasters said.
Heavy downpours and wind yesterday prompted the government to shut schools in the capital, Manila, while airlines canceled about 40 flights to central and eastern parts of the Philippine archipelago.
The coast guard also grounded inter-island ferries, stranding many travelers.
About 112,000 people were ordered to leave their homes in five towns prone to flash floods and landslides in Albay province. More than 50,000 had fled to government-run evacuation centers and relatives' homes by noon.
Authorities were closely watching farming communities at the base of Mayon volcano in Albay, southeast of Manila.
Tons of ash have been deposited on Mayon's slopes by past eruptions, and mudslides caused by a typhoon in 2006 buried entire villages, leaving about 1,600 people dead and missing.
The typhoon bore down on the Philippines exactly two years after nearly 500 people died in the worst flooding in decades in the capital. Residents offered prayers and planted trees yesterday to remember people who died while saving other residents during the 2009 disaster.
Nesat is expected to enter the South China Sea late tomorrow or early Thursday and head toward southern China.
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