Typhoon affects hundreds of thousands in Philippines
September 29, 2011
A typhoon that left at least 21 people dead in the Philippines and 33 others missing spun toward China on Thursday morning, while another another tropical storm brewing in the Pacific is expected to hit the Philippines again within days.
Typhoon Nesat — referred to in the Philippines as Pedring — displaced thousands in the archipelago nation, the state-run Philippines News Agency reported.
A baby boy was among the 21 dead when the typhoon slammed into the Philippines on Tuesday, authorities said. Twenty-five other people were injured, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The storm struck the agricultural provinces of Isabela and Aurora the hardest. But storm alerts were also issued for more than 40 other areas, including metro Manila, the state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.
Nearly 321,000 people were affected by the typhoon in 29 provinces, the disaster council said. About 79,000 people were receiving assistance at evacuation shelters.
More than 100 people were rescued across the country, the council said, many of them from boats.
Manila Bay overflowed its banks and flooded a commercial area in the Filipino capital, home to the U.S. Embassy. The Embassy, which was closed on Tuesday and Wednesday, will reopen Thursday, the Philippines News Agency said.
The presidential palace announced the suspension of all classes for schools and work for government agencies in Manila and other affected areas. The Philippine Stock Exchange also suspended trading.
Some roads around Manila were impassable due to flooding and falling debris, including branches that had been ripped off trees.
Several areas in Metro Manila and nearby provinces were without electricity as the powerful storm cut power and transmission lines.
At 10 a.m. Thursday (10 p.m. Wednesday ET), Nesat was centered about 350 kilometers (about 218 miles) southwest of Hong Kong and was forecast to move west-northwest at about 22 kilometers per hour (14 mph) toward Hainan Island and Leizhou, the Hong Kong Observatory said in a statement.
Also, Tropical Storm Nalgae was 1,350 km (838 miles) east of northern Luzon, the island where Manila is located, and was expected to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility within the next 24 hours, the council said in its 3 p.m. Wednesday update.
Nalgae, currently categorized as a severe tropical storm, is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon over the next day or so, said Brandon Miller, senior meteorologist for CNN International. It is currently packing winds of 55 knots (63.29 mph), and is expected to make landfall in the Philippines on Saturday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Typhoon Center.
Journalist Arlene Espiritu contributed to this report.