Hagupit batters Philippines, killing at least 25 - CNN.comHagupit batters Philippines, killing at least 25 - CNN.com

















SHARE THIS














Print
Email
More sharing


Reddit


StumbleUpon


Delicious











Tropical Storm Hagupit batters Philippines, killing at least 25



By Jethro Mullen and Saima Mohsin, CNN
updated 9:35 PM EST, Tue December 9, 2014
















STORY HIGHLIGHTS


Nearly 1,000 homes have been destroyed, the Red Cross says
"Every typhoon damages our home. We don't have the money to fix it," a grandmother says
Hagupit is downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it weakens
Flooding concerns for Manila as storm moves slowly across the country











Affected by the storm? Send your photos to CNN iReport, but please stay safe.
Legazpi, Philippines (CNN) -- The deadly storm that battered the Philippines for days weakened Monday as it rumbled from one island to another, passing close to the densely populated capital city of Manila.
Officials revised the death toll downward to 25 from 27 on Wednesday after two people were found alive, Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon told CNN.
Tropical Storm Hagupit, which was downgraded from typhoon strength Monday, slammed into the eastern Philippines late Saturday. It brought fierce winds and torrential rain to roughly the same region ravaged by Super Typhoon Haiyan in November last year.




Typhoon Hagupit weakening





Families urged to seek shelter from typhoon

But while Haiyan left more than 7,000 people dead or missing, Hagupit's toll so far remains in the double digits.
Hagupit has had a powerful impact across several major Philippine islands, driving hundreds of thousands of people from their houses, tearing down trees and causing floods. It has destroyed nearly 1,000 homes, Gwendolyn Pang, the secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, told CNN.
"I am worried -- I am thinking of my children and my grandchildren. They are so young, that's why we're here," said Pilar Rangosajo, a grandmother taking refuge in an evacuation center in the city of Legazpi. "It's so hard for me because every typhoon damages our home. We don't have the money to fix it."
Her concerns are common in a country where many people live in lightly built wooden houses.
Teams try to reach remote areas
As Hagupit -- known locally as Ruby -- continued to howl over the archipelago, officials have begun to assess the scale of the damage in the regions it hit. Emergency response teams are trying to reach some of the remote areas where little is known about the storm's effects.
But officials praised the success of efforts to relocate large numbers of people away from vulnerable coastal areas, citing fears of a repeat of last year's devastation as a motivating factor.
"People didn't have to be pushed anymore," Gordon said. "They knew that they could face another Haiyan, and Haiyan killed a lot of people from storm surges."
In Tacloban, the city hardest hit by Haiyan, around half the 200,000 residents evacuated to safer areas ahead of Hagupit, the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA Philippines said.
Fishermen fear typhoon will 'destroy everything'
Heavy rain concern for capital
Hagupit has been less powerful than Haiyan, but it is moving at a much slower pace. Weather forecasters said that means Hagupit will dump large amounts of heavy rain on areas in its path, increasing the risk of landslides and flash floods.
"It doesn't matter right now if it's a typhoon or tropical storm -- this is a rainmaker," meteorologist Tom Sater said.
Noel Rosal, the mayor of Legazpi, said that "for almost 20 hours, we were battered by rain and strong winds."
Flooding concerns are particularly acute for Manila, the national capital whose metropolitan region is home to nearly 12 million people. Because of the area's geography, many parts of Manila are susceptible to flash floods.
Hagupit passed to the south of Manila late Monday and early Tuesday, over the province of Batangas.
Humanitarian workers were also facing challenges coping with the sheer number of people relying on evacuation centers for support.
"Health issues are kind of difficult when you have 900,000 people crammed into rescue centers," Gordon said, raising concerns about sanitation and respiratory illnesses in particular.
Philippines gets more than its share of disasters

Saima Mohsin reported from Legazpi, and Jethro Mullen reported and wrote from Hong Kong. CNN's Mitra Mobasherat, Yoko Wakatsuki, Pedram Javaheri and Andrew Stevens contributed to this report.





















































Part of complete coverage on 
Typhoon Hagupit


CNN storm tracker





Get the latest satellite images and data as CNN tracks Typhoon Hagupit.



CNN reporters in storm

updated 9:01 PM EST, Sat December 6, 2014




CNN reporters Saima Mohsin and Andrew Stevens report from Legapzi and Tacloban amid heavy rain, wind.



Typhoon Hagupit's projected path

updated 8:58 PM EST, Sat December 6, 2014




CNN Meteorologist Tom Sater tracks the path of Typhoon Hagupit as it drenches the Philippines.



Typhoon moving slowly west

updated 1:14 AM EST, Sun December 7, 2014




The typhoon sends thousands of people into shelters amid pouring rain that heightens the risk of flooding and landslides.



Philippines gets lots of disasters

updated 9:10 PM EST, Fri December 5, 2014




Powered by ferocious winds, Typhoon Hagupit is whipping towards central Philippines and could affect the same area hit by the deadly Typhoon Haiyan just 13 months ago.



Tacloban braces for Hagupit

updated 7:57 PM EST, Thu December 4, 2014




A year after Haiyan ravaged Tacloban, its residents again prepare for a huge storm. CNN affiliate 9TV reports.



Year's worst storm moves in

updated 5:53 PM EST, Thu December 4, 2014




Typhoon Hagupit is bearing down on the Philippines. Meteorologist Tom Sater looks at where it might make landfall.



Typhoon Haiyan: A survivor's story

updated 10:58 AM EST, Fri November 7, 2014




Filmmaker and Philippine native Jeff Manibay shares his personal story of surviving Typhoon Haiyan.



What made Haiyan so powerful

updated 7:37 PM EST, Thu November 6, 2014




Meteorologist Tom Sater looks back at the chaos brought by Typhoon Haiyan one year after it devastated the Philippines.



Panorama shows Haiyan wreckage

updated 8:12 PM EST, Tue November 19, 2013




A dozen body bags line the street in Tacloban -- one of the towns hardest hit by Super Typhoon Haiyan -- as locals walk through the destruction of what used to be their homes.



'The Filipino spirit is alive among us'

updated 5:02 AM EST, Tue November 19, 2013




CNN's Airmie Jarin-Bennett, an expat Filipino, returned to her native land after Typhoon Haiyan. Nothing prepared her for what she found there.



Drone view of Haiyan's devastation 

updated 8:49 AM EST, Mon November 18, 2013




Karl Penhaul reports from the middle of the Tacloban devastation using a drone camera to get a bird's eye view. 



Interactive: Haiyan's path of disaster

updated 12:33 AM EST, Fri November 15, 2013




Explore stories from typhoon survivors, relief workers, and officials from eight regions across the Philippines.



Video shows moment typhoon hit 

updated 2:45 PM EST, Sun November 17, 2013




This video shows how strong the storm surge was during Super Typhoon Haiyan. 



Photos: Typhoon Haiyan

updated 6:54 PM EST, Wed November 27, 2013




The storm affected 4.3 million people in 36 provinces and displaced more than 340,000. 


 

















   
     










