Destructive Typhoon Spares Manila

 The heavily populated areas of Metro Manila and Central and Southern Luzon in the Philippines were spared from the devastating blow of typhoon Parma (locally named “Pepeng”) on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009, when the powerful typhoon suddenly weakened, accelerated and changed course.

This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows Typhoon Parma taken early Saturday morning Oct. 3, 2009 as it approaches the northern Philippines. (AP)

Had Parma moved on its expected path, it would have hit Aurora province in Eastern Luzon on Saturday morning and dumped more rains on Metro Manila and nearby localities, triggering floods and landslides to areas still reeling from the deluge brought by tropical storm Ketsana (locally named “Ondoy”) last Sept. 26.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said it was sheer luck that Parma did not inflict more damage and miseries to tens of thousands of victims of the previous calamity.

PAGASA director Nathaniel Cruz explained that a High Pressure Area (HPA) near Hong Kong prevented Parma from making a landfall in Eastern Luzon and crossing into the Cordillera and Cagayan provinces on its way to the South China Sea. He said the HPA diverted the track of the typhoon’s eye towards northwest, pushing Parma to move to the extreme northern part of Luzon instead.

“We can say that we are really lucky,” Cruz said.

He said the HPA also boosted the typhoon’s speed from 17 kph to 24 kph, minimizing its duration of stay over Northern Luzon. Moreover, the good weather-causing system in Hong Kong also weakened Parma, reducing its strength to maximum winds of 175 kph, from the previous 195 kph, near the center and a gustiness of 210 kph as of noon Saturday.

Robert Sawi, PAGASA senior weather section chief, said Parma will no longer be a super typhoon as earlier feared, noting that the friction caused when the typhoon hit the land mass of Cagayan province had weakened Parma.

Although Metro Manila and surrounding areas were spared from further flooding, Cagayan province was reported to be in “chaos” on Saturday due to fierce winds and heavy rains unleashed by Parma when it made landfall at around 3 p.m. Saturday, officials said.

“Everything was in chaos. Branches of trees all over area scattered in several places. Power supply was cut off,” reported Aileen Torres, administrator of the Philippine National Red Cross in Cagayan.

Chito Castro, head of the Office of Civil Defense in Cagayan Valley, said the typhoon was blowing “very, very strong winds,” uprooting trees and blowing off the roofs of houses. Communication lines were also cut off, reports said.

With the changes in the typhoon’s strength, speed and direction, Cruz said they expect the amount of the resulting rainfall to be lesser than that dumped by Ketsana.

Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo placed the entire Philippines under a state of calamity as she ordered preemptive evacuations in areas expected to be hit by the typhoon.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) reported Saturday morning that thousands of people living in critical areas in La Union, Cagayan, Isabela, Batanes, Quirino provinces had been evacuated.

More than 20,000 families or more than 100,000 people were evacuated in the Bicol region and a few hundred more were brought to evacuation centers in Southern Luzon. It was the first time in Philippine history that the government conducted a pre-emptive evacuation of people living in flood prone areas to avoid loss of lives.

The Arroyo government also announced the allotment of a 100 million-peso ($2 million) calamity fund for the continuing relief efforts for victims of storm Ketsana which left nearly 300 people dead and 42 more missing.