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Typhoon Hagupit hits the Philippines 
More than half a million people flee Typhoon Hagupit as it makes landfall in the Philippines 
























 



							By Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney

3:31PM GMT 06 Dec 2014
 



Typhoon Hagupit hit the Philippines on Saturday, after more than 600,000 
  people had fled its path in what was one of the world's biggest peacetime 
  evacuations ever. 


The storm caused gusts of up to 137mph as it moved west towards the 
  archipelago and threatened widespread destruction, just 13 months after a "super 
  typhoon" devastated the region. Last year's typhoon killed more than 
  7,000 people and displaced more than four million. 


The incoming storm has a front of almost 400 miles and had begun to cause 
  heavy winds, rain and blackouts but appeared to weaken as it moved towards 
  the nation's eastern provinces. However, international weather bureaus gave 
  conflicting assessments of the likely route. 


"Ruby's lashing will be severe," Manuel Roxas, the interior 
  secretary told government radio, referring to the local name for the 
  typhoon. 


"The wind feels like there's a huge electric fan blowing air from the 
  Pacific – let's be alert. Let's evacuate to prevent any harm to your 
  families."

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Authorities said about 616,000 people had fled coastal villages and 
  landslide-prone areas and taken shelter in churches, schools, gyms, town 
  halls and community centres. Other reports stated the number of people 
  evacuated could be closer to one million. 


Many of those evacuated were survivors of Haiyan, the devastating typhoon in 
  November last year, which wiped out farming and fishing communities and 
  destroyed more than one million homes. 


Scientists said Haiyan was one of the worst storms to ever make landfall; tens 
  of thousands of families still live in tents and makeshift housing. 


The latest typhoon, named Hagupit, had already caused a small landslide, heavy 
  rain and strong winds and is set to trigger 15-foot storm surges. 


Despite being downgraded to category three, two levels below "super 
  typhoon", it is due to bring torrential rain and potential flooding and 
  could cause widespread destruction over the next three to four days. 




"I'm scared," Jojo Moro, a survivor of Haiyan, told Associated 
  Press. "I'm praying to God not to let another disaster strike us again. 
  We haven't recovered from the first." 


Teresina Aban, a 58-year-old housewife at an evacuation centre in eastern 
  Samar province, told Reuters she was afraid she would lose her house. 


"I am afraid and scared," she said. "We're prepared but still 
  fearful, we haven't finished repairing our house, it still has tarpaulin 
  patches and here comes another storm."


AccuWeather Global Weather Center said more than 30 million people would feel 
  the impact of the typhoon, almost a third of the nation's 108 million 
  people. Manila, the capital, was unlikely to be seriously affected, though 
  some southern suburbs may be at risk. 


"Typhoon Hagupit is triggering one of the largest evacuations we have 
  ever seen in peacetime," said Denis McClean, from the United Nations 
  Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. 


Hagupit approached the coast on Saturday at speeds of about 8mph, compared 
  with Haiyan's speed last year of about 25mph. 


However, aid agencies warned that some evacuation centres were unsafe and 
  unlikely to withstand the onslaught of the coming typhoon. 


"A damage assessment of designated evacuation centres in typhoon-affected 
  areas indicated that in some places – less than 10 per cent of evacuation 
  centres were likely to withstand future typhoons," said Refugees 
  International in a statement. 




Filipino families seek refuge at a school used as an evacuation center as 
  they prepare for Typhoon Hagupit in Legazpi, Albay province, eastern 
  Philippines


"While the hope is that large-scale evacuations will help save lives, 
  there's little doubt that Hagupit will bring a great deal of fear and 
  suffering to thousands of Filipinos who already lost everything to Haiyan." 

Hundreds of domestic flights were cancelled across the country, ports were 
  closed and inter-island ferry services were suspended. The military and 
  police were patrolling cities such as Tacloban, where there was widespread 
  looting in the aftermath of last year's disaster. 


"The soldiers will help our police counterparts in maintaining peace and 
  order, and prevent looting incidents," said Colonel Restituto Padilla 
  Jr, a military spokesman. 


But the two main agencies tracking the typhoon, the United States military's 
  Joint Typhoon Warning Centre in Hawaii and the Philippines weather agency, 
  gave different assessments of the storm's path. 


The US agency predicted a northern route that could reach as far as the 
  southern outskirts of Manila, while the national agency predicted a more 
  southern route cutting through the central islands. About 47 of the 
  country's 81 provinces are believed to lie in the path of the storm. 


"The threat of flash floods and landslides are likely in hazard-prone 
  areas especially along river banks and mountain slopes of the affected areas," 
  said Weather Philippines, a weather monitoring website. 


However, aid agencies said lessons from last year appear to have been learnt 
  and much of the population in high-risk areas had evacuated. 


"There has been a tremendous amount of learning from last year," 
  said Greg Matthews, from the International Rescue Committee. 


"There have been reports from our field officers and partners that people 
  are evacuating themselves. They are aware of the situation."




Some aid agencies were reporting that small numbers of residents were choosing 
  to remain in villages to try to brave the storm. 


"In the end it's their decision," Jacqui Symonds from CARE Australia 
  told ABC News. 


"Most people are heading to the evacuation centres and following the 
  advice of the government. But there are some who choose to stay in their 
  homes if they feel that they're strong enough and ... feel protected enough." 

The Philippines, an island nation that has warm ocean temperatures and is 
  exposed to the western Pacific Ocean, is particularly prone to typhoons and 
  has about a 20 a year. 


Much of the population lives in low-lying poor coast villages, where weak 
  construction and inadequate infrastructure have increased the risk of 
  serious damage to people and properties. 


Benigno Aquino, the nation's president, told his disaster agency heads in a 
  televised address this week: "Let's prepare for everything. I will not 
  be very patient with excuses after this event. Failure on the priorities is 
  unforgivable." 




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