Philippine officials yesterday began evacuating thousands of people, shut down schools and offices and imposed a no-sail ban as Typhoon Mawar approached the country’s northern provinces a week after battering the US territory of Guam.
The typhoon was packing maximum sustained winds of 155kpm and gusts of up to 190kph, but was forecast to spare the mountainous region a direct hit. Current projections show the typhoon veering northeast toward Taiwan or southern Japan.
Although it is expected to slow down considerably, authorities warned of dangerous tidal surges, flash floods and landslides as it blows past the northernmost province of Batanes from today to tomorrow.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Disaster-preparedness officials said the typhoon’s course could change abruptly and there was no room for complacency.
“Even if the sun is up, the weather is so unpredictable nowadays and could change any time so we should always stay on the side of safety,” Philippine Office of Civil Defense Assistant Secretary Raffy Alejandro said. “We’re talking here of potential threats to lives.”
Mawar tore through Guam last week as the strongest typhoon to hit the US Pacific territory in more than two decades, flipping vehicles, tearing off roofs and knocking out power.
“These typhoons, earthquakes and natural calamities have been a part of our lives,” Batanes Vice Governor Ignacio Villa said. “We cannot afford not to prepare because that would potentially mean the loss of lives and major damage.”
Military personnel, police, firefighters and volunteer groups were standing by for search-and-rescue operations in northern provinces and more than 1 million food packs have been prepared for any contingency, officials said.
More than 4,800 people have been evacuated to emergency shelters in Cagayan, Batanes and other provinces, Alejandro said.
He added that the number of the displaced was expected to rise given the precautionary evacuations that were under way yesterday in flood and landslide-prone regions.
Classes and office work, except those involved in disaster-preparedness, have been suspended in most of Cagayan and Batanes provinces, where occasional downpours and gusty wind were reported on Sunday night. Flights to and from the provinces have been canceled and fishing and passenger vessels prohibited from sailing.
In at least one province, officials imposed a liquor ban.
Villa said the local government lent ropes to villagers living in high-risk communities to strengthen their houses as the typhoon approached.
About 20 typhoons and storms each year batter the Philippine archipelago, which also lies on seismic faults where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur, making the Southeast Asian nation one of the world’s most disaster-prone.
In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages, swept ships inland, demolished about 1 million shanties and houses and displaced more than 5 million in one of the country’s poorest regions in the central Philippines.
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
FOREST SITE: A rescue helicopter spotted the burning fuselage of the plane in a forested area, with rescue personnel saying they saw no evidence of survivors A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed yesterday in a remote spot in Russia’s far eastern region of Amur, with no immediate signs of survivors, authorities said. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at about 1pm. A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 16km from Tynda. Videos published by Russian investigators showed what appeared to be columns of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane in a dense, forested area. Rescuers in
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to meet US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally would secure a more favorable trade deal before the deadline on Friday next week. Marcos would be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also