(Bloomberg) -- Typhoon Haima killed at least eight people with more than 90,000 evacuated as the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year heads toward China after leaving vast areas flooded and without electricity and communication lines.
|Cat 5 super typhoon
Haima, a Category 5 super typhoon before it reached land, has moved back over water as a weaker typhoon with winds of up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) and gusts of up to 185 kilometers per hour as of 11 a.m. Manila time.
The storm is moving toward the coast of Guangdong, said the Hong Kong Observatory, which said it will consider issuing a strong wind signal 3. The U.S. military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimates that the storm will be 70 nautical miles from Hong Kong by Friday.
Four people were buried in separate landslides in the provinces of Ifugao and Benguet, while one is missing after being swept away by strong water currents, the Cordillera region’s civil defense office said. At least eight people were dead and two missing, said Interior Department director Edgar Allan Tabell, warning of the possibility of more flooding and landslides as water runs down from the mountains.
|Massive evacuation
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated to safer ground, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said. In Pampanga province, north of Manila, more than 51,000 people were affected as 37 villages were submerged in flood water.
Three dams in the region were opened, while three rivers had reached at a critical level. Power is out in six provinces, while the storm disrupted PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.’s communication network.
Continue reading...
A tricycle is pinned by tree branches at the height of Super Typhoon Haima that lashes Narvacan township, Ilocos Sur province Philippines on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
“The government is preparing for road reconnaissance for initial assessment of the damages,” Ricardo Jalad, chief of the Office of Civil Defense, said in a statement. The government had no immediate statistics regarding deaths or injuries, but local media reported that several people had drowned.
The second storm to hit the Philippines’s main Luzon island in a week, Haima is nearly as powerful as Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded and which killed more than 6,000 people in 2013, state weather forecasters said.
|Flooding is the biggest concern
About 3,500 people, 300 rolling cargoes and 33 vessels have been left stranded in various ports in Luzon, the coast guard said, and more than a dozen domestic flights were canceled, with seven airports in the provinces remaining closed. With the storm disrupting communications in some parts of northern Luzon, provider Globe Telecom Inc. said it was preparing to restore services.
Flooding is the biggest concern in areas already saturated by Typhoon Sarika last weekend, said Weather Underground. The United Nations Global Disaster Alert and Coordination said before the storm hit that Haima may have a “high humanitarian impact” and could affect as many as 11.6 million people.
The Philippines is among the world’s most disaster-prone countries, experiencing an average of 20 cyclones a year that form over the Pacific Ocean.
More photos...
Fishermen try to save fingerlings after flooding brought about by Super Typhoon Haima destroyed their fish pens at Vigan township, Ilocos Sur province in northern Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
A man shows the height of his flooded home as Super Typhoon Haima lashes Narvacan township, Ilocos Sur province, Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Filipino Joybin Marayo, 58, salvages metals on a damaged boat that was washed ashore by strong waves brought about by Typhoon Haima in Manila, Philippines on Thursday Oct. 20, 2016. Several people were killed after Super Typhoon Haima smashed into the northern Philippines with ferocious wind and rains overnight, flooding towns and forcing thousands to flee then weakening Thursday after slamming into a mountain range and blowing into the South China Sea, officials said. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
A resident uses a bamboo raft to bring to safety a goat after it was trapped following the flooding brought about by Super Typhoon Haima which lashes Vigan township, Ilocos Sur province in northern Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
A toppled pole lays along a flooded road as heavy rains and wind from Typhoon Haima batters Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, northern Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
A resident reinforces his flooded home at the height of Super Typhoon Haima. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
A man wades through a flooded highway at the height of Super Typhoon Haima that lashes Narvacan township, Ilocos Sur province in northern Philippines. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Filipinos scavenges for recyclable materials from the trash that was washed ashore by strong waves brought about by Typhoon Haima in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
