RP braces for strongest typhoon
RP braces for strongest typhoon
MANILA (AFP): The northern Philippines battened down against Typhoon Ivan, the strongest typhoon in the country in two years, with the military going on standby just hours before the storm was due to make landfall.
Over the past six hours, Ivan's peak winds weakened to 175 kilometers an hour, down by 10 kilometers an hour, but was still gusting at 215 kilometers an hour as it came within 150 kilometers of land, weatherpeople said.
It was forecast to lash the northeastern tip of the main island of Luzon anytime before midnight (11 p.m. Jakarta time).
The military in the northern Philippines was mobilized for possible rescue and relief work over 18 provinces which were forecast to be affected.
The typhoon was forecast to spare Manila, which in November 1995 bore the brunt of supertyphoon Angela which killed nearly 800 people.
Weatherpeople raised the third stage of a four-scale alert over the province of Cagayan and the nearby province of Isabela, and warned coastal residents of the Cagayan Valley region to "seek higher ground due to possible coastal flooding and big waves".
An advisory also warned of "rough to phenomenal seas" within a 300-kilometer radius, deemed "dangerous to all types of seacraft".
Heavy rain lashed Cagayan early yesterday as the typhoon approached, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, radio station DZRH reported.
Armed Forces Chief Gen. Arnulfo Acedera ordered military commanders in Cagayan Valley and the Central Luzon region, north of Manila, to "take appropriate action" and to mobilize for "rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts" if necessary.
A military statement said the army, air force and navy were also alerted to provide "appropriate equipment and trained personnel".
The eye of the storm was 150 kilometers northeast of the town of Casiguran at 4 p.m.. It was forecast to move northwest at 15 kilometers an hour and be near the sparsely populated Calayan islands this afternoon, the weather bureau's latest bulletin said.
About 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines each year. This year they have so far accounted for about 47 deaths including the sinking of a ferry in August.
Disaster officials say poor public warning systems, substandard housing materials, inadequate rescue equipment and sheer foolhardiness in the face of nature's wrath account for a good portion of the casualties.