Philippines Braces for Arrival of Typhoon Hagupit - NYTimes.comPhilippines Braces for Arrival of Typhoon Hagupit - NYTimes.comMain MenuMain MenuType Size:AAANight Mode:DisableEnableAccount:SubscribeLog inThe New York TimesInternational New York TimesSearchGoShareTweetMoreSubscribeSubscribeMy accountLog inWorldPhilippines Braces for Arrival of Typhoon HagupitFishermen tried to secure a boat in the city of Legazpi before the arrival of a powerful storm that was expected to make landfall on Saturday.Zalrian Z. Sayat / European Pressphoto AgencyShareBy AUSTIN RAMZYDecember 5, 2014HONG KONG — The eastern Philippines was preparing Friday for the arrival of a powerful storm blowing off the Pacific Ocean, just over a year after Typhoon Haiyan cut a path of devastation across the island nation. But the new storm, Typhoon Hagupit, is not expected to have Haiyan’s destructive power.On Friday morning, Hagupit was 250 miles off the eastern coast of the Philippines, headed west with maximum sustained winds reaching 130 miles per hour, according to Philippine government meteorologists. It was expected to make landfall on Saturday, probably on eastern Samar Island.Forecasts differed on what path the typhoon would take after that. Philippine authorities predicted that the storm would continue west, while the United States Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center was anticipating a more northerly course that would take Hagupit — or Ruby, as it is being called in the Philippines — over Manila, the capital.Residents took shelter in the city of Surigao, in the central Philippines, on Friday.Erwin Mascarinas / Associated PressAgencies reported Friday morning that the storm had weakened. But by evening they indicated that it had strengthened, with the United States warning center classifying Hagupit as a “supertyphoon” once again and the Japan Meteorological Agency upgrading the storm to its highest category, “violent.”On Friday, President Benigno S. Aquino III criticized some local news media outlets for reporting that the coming storm would be comparable to Typhoon Haiyan, or Yolanda, as it was called in the Philippines. He said there was “no indication or official analysis” supporting that comparison.Manila and the cities around it are densely populated, and their poor infrastructure means that even modest storms can trigger dangerous flooding. To the south, the region still recovering from Typhoon Haiyan was preparing for the arrival of another powerful storm.“Everyone, everybody from the people to the local government to the national government, is not taking chances,” said Bradley Mellicker, an International Organization for Migration official who was helping with preparations in the far eastern city of Guiuan, on Samar. "They’re fully mobilizing to prepare before it arrives.Video | Lost in the Storm An 11-year-old girl reflects on all that she lost when her home in Tacloban, the Philippines, was devastated by a typhoon in November.“I’ve heard from areas that weren’t directly hit by Haiyan last year,” he continued, “and they’re taking this very seriously, probably more seriously than had Haiyan not hit last year.”Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 7,300 people when it struck the country in November 2013. Tacloban, a regional capital of 220,000 people, was particularly devastated as storm surges as high as 17 feet burst across low-lying areas.“Of course we are watching this storm very, very closely,” said Praveen Agrawal, the Philippines country representative for the World Food Program. “Should it hit the exact same path as Haiyan, people will be more vulnerable, as they’re only just bouncing back.”Residents of Tacloban have shown great caution in the days leading up to the storm’s arrival, said the city’s vice mayor, Jerry Yaokasin.“Finally, Taclobanons have become more conscious and aware of the possible impact of Typhoon Hagupit,” he wrote Friday on Facebook. Mr. Yaokasin said residents with homes in unsafe areas had begun voluntarily evacuating three days before the storm was expected to arrive.ShareSaveShow Full Article                            xSharexEmailTwitterRedditGooglePermalinkhttp://nyti.ms/1z0dgqbToolsSaveMore In WorldYemeni Government Collapses as President and Prime Minister ResignPresident Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi and his government abruptly stepped down, leaving armed Houthi rebels as the dominant force in a leaderless country.Citing Falling Oil Prices, Iraq Seeks Arms on Credit to Fight ISIS4:36 PM ETPrime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the precipitous drop in prices posed a fresh challenge to his military’s efforts to push back Islamic State militants.Argentine President Now Says Prosecutor’s Death Was Not a SuicidePresident Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said she believed that the lead investigator of the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center did not commit suicide.Back to topMain MenuHomeHomeWorldU.S.U.S. NewsPoliticsU.S. PoliticsThe UpshotNew YorkBusinessBusinessBusiness DayTechnologySportsSportsOpinionOpinionScienceHealthArtsArtsStyleStylePhotosVideoMost EmailedTimes PremierMore SectionsAutomobilesBlogsBooksFoodFoodFoodEducationHome & GardenMagazineMoviesMusicMedia & AdvertisingObituariesPublic EditorGreat Homes and DestinationsReal EstateSunday ReviewT MagazineTelevisionTheaterTimes WireTravelWeddingsCorrectionsRecommendationsSavedSettingsEdition:Type Size:AAANight Mode:DisableEnableAccount:SubscribeLog inDownload Our AppsNYTimesNYT NowDownload the NYTimes appHelpSubscribeFeedbackTerms of ServicePrivacy© 2015 The New York Times Company