Typhoon leaves trail of destruction and death
Source: Agencies |
October 20, 2010, Wednesday
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A SUPER typhoon that killed 13 people and flattened forests and crops in the northern Philippines dumped heavy rains on the capital Manila yesterday as it headed across the sea toward southern China.
Typhoon Megi struck the Philippines on Monday with ferocious winds of 225 kilometers per hour, but initial assessments showed relatively light damage and casualties, partly because the storm struck sparsely populated areas. Philippine officials also cited their massive emergency preparations days ahead of the storm.
Food vendor Nesie Callaotit, her husband and two children were hurriedly packing clothes to flee to safety when the wind yanked off half of their tin roof, exposing their house in northeastern Isabela province to pounding rain and the horrifying wind.
They held on to a wooden post for three hours, weeping and praying together, until the torrents eased. "All of us were in tears," the 40-year-old Callaotit said. "We thought it was our last day together."
After it exited into the South China Sea yesterday, Megi was almost stationary packing winds of 175 kph but was forecast to regain strength before its expected landfall in southern China on Thursday.
Isabela province in the northeast Philippines, Megi's entry point, bore the brunt of the destruction while more than 8,000 people rode out the typhoon in schools, town halls, churches and relatives' homes.
Roads in and out of the coastal province were deserted and blocked by collapsed trees, power lines and debris.
Iron-sheet roofs on many of the houses were blown away. In Tamauini town, Ariel Marzan said he escaped just minutes before his house tumbled amid winds so strong its roof was swept into a nearby rice field.
"I didn't expect it to be so strong," he said as he surveyed the damage and picked up the strewn pieces of his household.
At least 13 deaths in Cagayan, Isabela and Pangasinan provinces were blamed on the typhoon, including at least six drownings. In Pangasinan province, a mother, her daughter and son were killed when a tree collapsed on their house.
Even as the typhoon moved away, its massive outer bands still stretched over much of western Luzon and drenched Manila and surrounding areas.
Typhoon Megi struck the Philippines on Monday with ferocious winds of 225 kilometers per hour, but initial assessments showed relatively light damage and casualties, partly because the storm struck sparsely populated areas. Philippine officials also cited their massive emergency preparations days ahead of the storm.
Food vendor Nesie Callaotit, her husband and two children were hurriedly packing clothes to flee to safety when the wind yanked off half of their tin roof, exposing their house in northeastern Isabela province to pounding rain and the horrifying wind.
They held on to a wooden post for three hours, weeping and praying together, until the torrents eased. "All of us were in tears," the 40-year-old Callaotit said. "We thought it was our last day together."
After it exited into the South China Sea yesterday, Megi was almost stationary packing winds of 175 kph but was forecast to regain strength before its expected landfall in southern China on Thursday.
Isabela province in the northeast Philippines, Megi's entry point, bore the brunt of the destruction while more than 8,000 people rode out the typhoon in schools, town halls, churches and relatives' homes.
Roads in and out of the coastal province were deserted and blocked by collapsed trees, power lines and debris.
Iron-sheet roofs on many of the houses were blown away. In Tamauini town, Ariel Marzan said he escaped just minutes before his house tumbled amid winds so strong its roof was swept into a nearby rice field.
"I didn't expect it to be so strong," he said as he surveyed the damage and picked up the strewn pieces of his household.
At least 13 deaths in Cagayan, Isabela and Pangasinan provinces were blamed on the typhoon, including at least six drownings. In Pangasinan province, a mother, her daughter and son were killed when a tree collapsed on their house.
Even as the typhoon moved away, its massive outer bands still stretched over much of western Luzon and drenched Manila and surrounding areas.
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