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Friday, November 23, 2007
Typhoon Mina gaining strength
MANILA -- A tropical storm developed into a typhoon Thursday as it powered toward an eastern Philippine region ravaged last year by flash floods and volcanic mudslides that killed more than 1,000 people, officials said.
Typhoon Mina (international name: Mitag) was packing 140 kilometer per hour (88 mph) per hour winds with gusts of up to 170 kph (106 mph) as it blew westward from the Philippine Sea at 15 kph (9 mph) toward the Bicol region around 4 p.m., chief government forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said.
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It could be a "super typhoon" with winds of over 220 kph (138 mph) when it makes landfall at the weekend, Cruz said.
Disaster officials said close to 46,000 people already have been moved to temporary shelters in 15 towns around Mayon volcano in Albay province, about 340 kilometers southeast of Manila.
In Sorsogon province, south of Albay, more than 900 people also were evacuated, mostly from villages in Irosin town, which is often hit by mudslides from nearby Bulusan volcano.
Another 2,275 people also fled flooded communities in Camarines Sur province.
Camarines Sur, Albay, and Sorsogon are among the six provinces of the Bicol region on the southern tip of the main Philippine island of Luzon.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, worried about a repeat of last year's disaster, has ordered mass evacuations in the typhoon's expected path and cut short her trip to Singapore, where she was attending an Asian summit.
Cruz said if the typhoon doesn't change direction, it will hit Bicol by Saturday morning or veer northwest and make landfall in Quezon province farther north the next day.
The typhoon is also enhancing northeast monsoon rains, drenching the eastern Philippines, he said.
Albay Governor Joey Salceda has suspended classes so some schools can be used as temporary shelters.
Cedric Daep, executive officer of the provincial disaster office, said full evacuation of the most threatened communities along the coastline and in the foothills of the Mayon volcano will begin Thursday afternoon.
"It's been raining for many days in some areas, and these are ripe for landslides," said Glenn Rabonza, administrator of the Office of Civil Defense.
He warned that storm surges from a powerful typhoon could generate waves 3-10 meters (10-30 feet) high that could wreak havoc on coastal villages. (AP)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (November 23, 2007 issue)
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