[King Gizzard]

Most powerful tropical storm ever recorded expected to hit the Phillipines tomorrow. Probably spell mass damage/lives

Typhoon Haiyan bears down on Philippines
Most powerful storm to hit the western Pacific this year expected to make landfall on Friday between Samar and Leyte


theguardian.com, Thursday 7 November 2013 09.34 GMT

Residents evacuated ahead of typhoon Haiyan
Residents of Legazpi city, south of Manila, are evacuated before the arrival of super typhoon Haiyan. Photograph: Charism Z Sayat/AFP/Getty Images

Authorities have grounded ferry services and called in fishing boats as an approaching super typhoon, the most powerful to hit the western Pacific this year, has gained strength on a path set for the central Philippines.

With centre winds of 135 miles per hour and gusts of up to 155mph, typhoon Haiyan, rated a category-five storm (the most severe) was moving west/north-west at 18mph in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday. It was expected to make landfall on Friday between the central islands of Samar and Leyte.

"I have issued a call to prepare for the worst," said Ben Evardone, a member of congress representing Eastern Samar province, one of the areas likely to be hit.

"We have mobilised all LGUs [local government units] and all resources for any contingency. There were already forced and pre-emptive evacuations in some danger areas," he said.

Areas in the path of the storm were already experiencing strong winds and heavy rains, he said.

The coastguard has warned deep-sea fishing boats to seek shelter or return to port. Schools and some offices are shut and power and communication lines switched off.

Officials have used bullhorns to tell residents of coastal and upland villages to move to safer areas, while some people have been tying their houses on to stable posts. Trees have been trimmed and boats dragged on to shore.

The state weather bureau raised storm alerts on coconut-growing Samar and Leyte. Officials in a dozen other central provinces also began stockpiling food, water and other relief supplies.

In September, typhoon Usagi, also a category-five storm, battered the Philippines' northernmost island of Batanes before wreaking more damage in southern China.

An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year. In 2011, typhoon Washi killed 1,200 people, displaced 300,000 and destroyed more than 10,000 homes.

Bopha, the strongest storm to hit last year, flattened three coastal towns on the southern island of Mindanao, killing 1,100 people and destroying crops, property and infrastructure worth $1.04bn.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...powerful-storm

[Vicky.]

From reading that, why on earth would anyone want to live there? A category 5 just 2 months ago, another due now, and 20 storms a year? :S

[Josy]

Yeah I agree Vicky I could never feel safe living in a place like that.

I was watching this on the weather this morning looks big.

[King Gizzard]

195mph wind speeds, and we were all scared about 80mph the other week

[Benjamin]

This is the conditions so far before it has even hit.

Youtube video

[Ammi]

Three people are reported to have been killed after the strongest tropical storm of the year, known as Typhoon Haiyan, barrelled into the Philippines.

Among those reported dead are a mother and child who drowned in South Cotabato and a boy who was struck by lightning in Zamboanga City.

Thousands of residents have been evacuated from villages in Haiyan's path amid fears the storm damage could be the worst in Philippines' history

President Benigno Aquino III assured residents in high-risk areas, including 100 coastal communities, of war-like preparations with three C-130 air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on standby, along with 20 navy ships.

Residents were warned they would be forcibly evacuated at gunpoint if necessary.

"No typhoon can bring Filipinos to their knees if we'll be united," the President Aquino said in a televised address

The US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre in Hawaii said Haiyan's maximum sustained winds were 314km per hour (195mph), with gusts up to 379km per hour (235mph).

http://news.sky.com/story/1165530/ha...he-philippines

[Samm]

Poor people

[King Gizzard]

Probably more deaths, but the vast majority seem to have evacuated in time

Regards to why people live there, they probably know nothing better and storms are just part of their routine/life, their family have always lived there, and it might be dirt cheap because of the storms

[Samm]

And we say are storm was bad

[reece(:]

Unconfirmed reports suggest at least 10,000 people are dead in the central Philippines province of Leyte after Typhoon Haiyan hit the region.
A senior police official says about 70 to 80 per cent of the province was destroyed by the super storm, one of the most powerful on record.

"We had a meeting last night with the governor and the other officials," said regional police director, Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria.

"The governor said based on their estimate, 10,000 died."

Witnesses and officials described chaotic scenes in Leyte's capital Tacloban, a coastal city of 220,000 about 580 kilometres south-east of Manila, with hundreds of bodies piled on the sides of roads and pinned under wrecked houses.

The Red Cross had earlier estimated more than 1,000 people had been killed across the Philippines in the wake of the typhoon, one of the most powerful to make landfall on record.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-1...ietnam/5081524

[MTVN]

It's terrible, have got a Filipino aunt who doesn't live there but her family all do, thankfully it wasn't as bad where they live though but was still pretty worrying for them

[King Gizzard]

[King Gizzard]

Admittedly I haven't really been watching the news or reading the newspapers but as social media goes I've seen absolutely nothing about this even though it's a big tragedy

[Lee.]

Originally Posted by Nathan

Admittedly I haven't really been watching the news or reading the newspapers but as social media goes I've seen absolutely nothing about this even though it's a big tragedy

Nathan, I was just ranting about this earlier.. One of my good friends is from the Philippines and her daughter is me daughters best friend.. For that reason I've been really concerned,but it's taken me days to find out how catastrophic it's been ... If this had happened in the uk or the USA, sky news would have been reporting 24 hours a day every day!
1200people dead is horrific news...to me a really big story, but to sky and the BBC it's not a huge story

[King Gizzard]

Must also be due to the fact the economy isn't as great their, and so the coverage isn't as exstensive as it had been in Japan, then you had the nuclear explosion in Japan that made that even worse

and then the one on Boxing day that year was probably as big as it was because it was on Boxing day

[Z]

Such an awful disaster

[arista]

The major problem
for the Filipinos is their homes being made of wood.


This will happen Again and Again
sadly

[arista]

Over 10K sadly dead

[King Gizzard]

Seen quite a bit more coverage now. Probably only now realising the scale of it

[Ammi]

..there's really quite an 'awakening' picture in the Daily Mail today of a man carrying his daughter to the morgue...two out of five of the dead are children...it's just impossible to imagine...

[Lee.]

Originally Posted by arista

Over 10K sadly dead

Yeah, and that's only in one city.. The total death toll is going to be a lot higher!

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by Lee.

Yeah, and that's only in one city.. The total death toll is going to be a lot higher!

..also, the thing is in the aftermath of something like this is the death toll can rise hugely with problems getting aid through quickly enough...poisoned water supplies etc...

[MTVN]

Yeah and there's thousands of people out in really rural areas who still can't be accounted for, just read that there's expected to be another typhoon in 72 hours as well :/

[Ammi]

Originally Posted by MTVN

Yeah and there's thousands of people out in really rural areas who still can't be accounted for, just read that there's expected to be another typhoon in 72 hours as well :/

.. it's quite often the (after) one that causes the most devastation as well...terrifying thought...

[the truth]

glad to see the churches are doing their utmost to help....theyre always a great focal point of communal unity and hope, regardless if youre religious....same happens in many crisis and even during world war 2....Churchill used the saving of St Pauls as a beacon of hope and a focal point during those dark days of the terrifying thousand bomber raids....