A ferocious and dangerously erratic typhoon blew closer to the Philippines yesterday, as differing forecasts about its path — one predicting it will graze the capital, Manila — prompted a much wider swath of the country to prepare for a weekend of destructive winds and rain.
Typhoon Hagupit — Filipino for “lash” — was expected to blast in from the Pacific Ocean into central Philippines late today, lashing parts of a region that was devastated by last year’s Typhoon Haiyan and left more than 7,300 people dead and missing. Still, the good news was that the typhoon was weakening as it blew closer to the coast.
“I’m scared,” Haiyan survivor Jojo Moro said. “I’m praying to God not to let another disaster strike us again. We haven’t recovered from the first.”
Photo: AFP
At least 47 of the country’s 81 provinces are considered potentially at high risk from Hagupit, officials said. The first one in its path is Eastern Samar province where it is expected to make landfall. It is then expected to cut across central islands along a route north. However, its path thereafter is debatable.
The computer models of the two agencies tracking the typhoon closely — the US military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii and the Philippine weather agency — showed different tracks for the typhoon.
The US agency said Hagupit might veer north after coming inland and sweep past the southern edge of the national capital region, a metropolis of more than 12 million people. The Philippine agency, known by its acronym PAGASA, projected a more southern track. However both tracks appeared to be coming closer together as the landfall time approaches.
Also, both agencies said the typhoon is slowly losing strength. PAGASA said it is now packing winds of 195kph and gusts of 230kph. The US center in Hawaii downgraded the typhoon’s status from a super typhoon and said it was expected to continue losing strength with winds dropping to 175kph by tomorrow morning.
“Although it’s been reported that the typhoon has lost strength, it doesn’t mean that our readiness will also weaken,” said Alexander Pama, who heads the country’s disaster-response agency.
Hagupit’s erratic behavior prompted the Philippine government to call an emergency meeting of Metro Manila mayors. Philippine Secretary of Defense Voltaire Gazmin said he would rather “over-prepare than under-prepare.”
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said that authorities have alerted residents.
“We are ready,” Estrada said, but added that “these typhoons change direction all the time.”
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