Article Tools

Another disaster looms in the Philippines as a powerful typhoon barrels its way towards Metro Manila, a metropolis of more than 11 million people, carrying tons of rain and packing 150 kph winds that could uproot trees and topple billboards.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday ordered a preemptive evacuation of people residing in hazardous places in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces as Typhoon Mirinae (local name “Santi”) continued moving west directly towards the Philippine capital.

Nathaniel Cruz of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, points to the exact location of typhoon Mirinae, during a news briefing on Friday, Oct. 30, 2009. (AP)

Weather forecasters warned that the powerful typhoon will hit the densely populated region by late Friday until Saturday morning, dumping heavy rains in areas already flooded by previous storms. They said the typhoon also packs very strong winds that could topple billboards and uproot trees.
As of 1 p.m. Friday, the eye of the typhoon was located at 240 kms east of Infanta, Quezon province, with a maximum sustained winds of 150 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 180 kph moving at 28 kph westward, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
Should Mirinae maintain its current pace, it would slam into Quezon province Friday night and move to within 280 km west southwest of Metro Manila Saturday morning, PAGASA spokesman Nathaniel Cruz said.
Cruz said the typhoon was also expected to strike the Southern Luzon provinces of Laguna, Batangas, and Cavite.
PAGASA administrator Prisco Nilo said Mirinae could dump an accumulated amount of 90 mm rainfall for six hours, enough to put low-lying areas in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces under three inches of floodwaters.
Cruz likened Mirinae to Typhoon Xangsane (local name “Milenyo”) which wrought havoc in Metro Manila on Sept. 28, 2006.
“This will be an intense typhoon. It would be like ‘Milenyo.’ We should prepare,” Cruz warned.
During its rampage, Xangsane – which packed winds of 130 kph — killed about 200 people in Metro Manila as it uprooted trees, toppled down billboards, and disrupted electric and communications lines.
Nilo said Mirinae was expected to exit the Philippines and move towards the South China Sea by Saturday afternoon.
Meanwhile in Malacanang, Arroyo said people living in danger areas in Luzon should go to safer grounds, warning that Mirinae was expected to dump as much rains as tropical storm Ketsana (local name “Ondoy”) which battered Metro Manila and surrounding areas only last month.
“With the coming typhoon, I advise our countrymen living in hazardous areas to evacuate, especially those who live in houses that could not withstand the strength of a strong typhoon,” Arroyo said.
The President issued the warning after she held discussions on climate change and solid waste management with local officials in her home province of Pampanga.