Typhoon Hagupit to hit Philippines Saturday Dec 06,2014

 

A wide swath of the Philippines, including the capital Manila, braced on Friday Dec 05,2014 for a dangerously erratic and powerful typhoon approaching from the Pacific, about a year after the country was lashed by Typhoon Haiyan that left more than 7,300 people dead.

Typhoon Hagupit Filipino for “smash” strengthened overnight with its sustained winds intensifying to 215 kilometres (134 miles) per hour and gusts of 250 kph (155 mph). The local weather agency PAGASA’s forecasts show the typhoon may hit Eastern Samar province late Saturday Dec 06,2014 or early on Sunday Dec 07,2014

Super Typhoon Hagupit, known locally as Ruby, is expected to make landfall Saturday evening and is approaching the Philippines from the western Pacific Ocean and is projected to make landfall on the Eastern Samar or Northern Samar province. The storm is expected to skirt north of the city of Tacloban, which was devastated by Haiyan last year

Typhoon Hagupit makes landfall in the Philippines

 

A NASA satellite image showed Typhoon Hagupit swirling over the Philippines as its fierce wind and rain destroyed homes in the east of the nation

Typhoon Hagupit caused flooding and ripped roofs off homes

Power outages have left streets in darkness across the Philippines, with torches and car headlamps the only source of light in some areas

The coastal city of Legazpi was battered by the biblical storm for hours as waves crashed against the sea wall and winds tore trees from the ground

More than 1 million people had fled to shelters away from coastal areas and landslide-prone villages by the time Typhoon Hagupit made landfall on Dec 06,2014 Saturday night

Almost a million people battened down the hatches in emergency shelters across the Philippines as Typhoon Hagupit's 100mph winds battered the nation.

The fierce storm knocked out power, mowed down trees and sent almost 900,000 people into shelters as it ripped through the country overnight, causing flooding and ripping roofs off homes, killing at least three people.

Packing maximum winds of 210 kilometers per hour, Hagupit made landfall in Dolores, a coastal town facing the Pacific in Eastern Samar province, according to the Philippines’ weather agency

Hagupit’s strong winds and heavy rain were enough to possibly cause major damage to an impoverished region still reeling from the devastating November 2013Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing(Haiyan - known as Yolanda in the Philippines - was the most powerful typhoon ever recorded over land) 

The typhoon, which made landfall in Eastern Samar late Saturday, is moving slowly, dumping heavy rain that could trigger landslides and more flash flooding

Floodwater sweeping through towns could cause humanitarian problems

Men and women were forced to wade through knee-deep floodwater as they went to find aid supplies after the storm calmed in Borongan city

 Borongan residents assess the damage on a street on the Samar island city after Hagupit caused devastation overnight

Residents of low-lying villages and landslide-prone areas had been evacuated to schools, civic centres, town halls, gyms and churches, the national disaster agency said.

 

There were more than 1.2 million people crowding over 1,500 evacuation centres across the central Philippines, said Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, adding local governments were providing the evacuees' basic needs

Volunteers pack relief goods for typhoon-affected areas inside a warehouse in Pasay City, south of the capital Manila