At least 265 dead in floods, landslides as rains batter East Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya - Two months of relentless rains have submerged villages and farms and sent rivers of mud crashing into houses across East Africa, with at least 265 killed, according to an AFP tally, as meteorologists warn of more to come.

The extreme downpours have affected close to two million people and washed away tens of thousands of livestock in Kenya, Somalia, Burundi, Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda, Djibouti and Ethiopia.

With a tropical storm headed for Somalia and more rain forecast across the region in the coming weeks, fears are rising over waterborne diseases and the prospect of hunger as crops are destroyed.

In Burundi, 38 people died on Wednesday night after heavy rains triggered landslides that swept through hillside communities in the northwest of the country, according to a provisional police toll on Thursday.

"It happened in the night, when everyone was at home, and landslides hit three very steep hills and buried everything in their path," a witness told AFP.

"Whole families were buried alive in their homes or in the fields. It was terrifying."

Kenya has been hard hit with 132 killed and 17,000 displaced, schools, roads, and health centers flooded, and water systems clogged across the country, government spokesman Cyrus Oguna said in a statement on Tuesday.

The "weather forecast has indicated that the current rains are not expected to cease until the end of December 2019," the statement said. 

In South Sudan, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said nearly a million people have been affected by floodwaters which submerged whole towns, compounding an already dire humanitarian situation after six years of war. 

Flooding has also affected 570,000 people in Somalia, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The European humanitarian agency ECHO meanwhile warned of a tropical storm due to hit northeastern Somalia on Friday, bringing the threat of more flash floods.

'Multiple landslides'

In Tanzania, 55 people have died, according to an AFP tally of police figures, including 30 in flash floods in the northeast in October, 15 whose car was swept away by floodwaters in the town of Tanga, and 10 who drowned last month in northern Mwanza.

In Uganda, eight people have died and over 80,000 have been displaced by flooding and mudslides this week, Disaster Preparedness Minister Musa Ecweru said in a statement.

Days of heavy rainfall on Mount Elgon on Tuesday caused "multiple landslides in... Bududa district killing four people, injuring five and displacing over 6,000 people".

In Sironko district, also on Mount Elgon, "two adults and two children were killed" and over 4,000 people affected.

"The risk of more flooding and landslides is real," the minister warned.

Ethiopia has also been affected, with 22 people dying in a landslide in the south of the country in October.

Djibouti has also experienced unusually heavy rains, with a joint government and United Nations press statement reporting that some areas received "the equivalent of 2 years of rainfall occurred in one day" in heavy downpours two weeks ago.

"Some 10 people (7 children) have reportedly been killed," said the statement, adding that 250,000 were affected countrywide.

Warm Indian Ocean waters to blame

The extreme weather is blamed on the Indian Ocean Dipole -- a climate system defined by the difference in sea surface temperature between the western and eastern areas of the ocean.

At the moment, the ocean around East Africa is far warmer than usual, resulting in higher evaporation and moist air flowing inwards over the continent as rain: the hallmarks of a "positive" dipole.

Scientists say the strength of this dipole is of a magnitude not seen in years, perhaps even decades.

These waters around East Africa have been about two degrees warmer than those of the eastern Indian Ocean near Australia -- an imbalance well beyond the norm. 

The heavy rains have also wrought destruction in central Africa, with scores killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including 41 in the capital Kinshasa last week.

In the Central African Republic, OCHA says around 100,000 people have been displaced.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hero boy saved little brother when Italy quake struck

CASAMICCIOLA TERME, Italy - Eleven-year old Ciro, the last child to be pulled from the rubble on the Italian island of Ischia Tuesday, saved his little brother's life when the deadly earthquake struck, rescuers workers said.

Firefighters had to dig with their bare hands to reach the youngster, who had been buried along with his seven-year old brother Mattias and seven-month old half-brother Pasquale.

"It was Ciro who saved Mattias," said policeman Andrea Gentile. "He dragged him and pushed him under the bed with him, a gesture that without a doubt saved both their lives.

"Then with a broom handle he banged on the rubble so the rescuers could hear him," he explained.

Monday's 4.0-magnitude quake killed a 59-year old mother-of-six in Casamicciola, on the north of the small tourist island, after debris fell from a church. The other victim was a 65-year old Italian tourist discovered in the rubble of a collapsed house, local media said.

But as a dusty Mattias was pulled free from the rubble, firefighters broke into applause. Ciro, rescued after 16 hours in the dark, was loaded into a waiting ambulance.

"Don't leave me, don't let me die," he had begged his saviors, Italy's AGI news agency reported.

MIRACULOUS ESCAPE

The boys' father, his hands in bandages after a night digging through the rubble alongside the firefighters, tearfully hugged relatives as his eldest son was saved.

Earlier, after hours of digging overnight, emergency workers had recovered the baby, Pasquale. He was saved by kitchen cabinets that toppled over him, shielding him from the debris of the collapsing house, they said.

Two small communes, Casamicciola and neighbouring Lacco Ameno, bore the brunt of the quake, according to the civil protection agency.

The quake hit the northwest of the island at 8:57pm (1857 GMT) on Monday, at a depth of just five kilometres (three miles).

Italian officials first put the quake at a 3.6 magnitude, but later revised it upward to 4.0 -- in seismic terms, a modest event.

The main earthquake was followed by 14 smaller aftershocks. Several buildings collapsed while others had large, ominous cracks. And as well as the two deaths, 42 people were injured, one seriously.

"Italy is united with Ischia in sorrow for, and solidarity with, the victims," Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Twitter.

"We stand side-by-side with those taking part in the rescues."

'A NIGHTMARE'

Many holidaymakers packed their bags and rushed to catch special overnight ferries back to the mainland.

The quake struck just days ahead of the first anniversary of the 6.0 magnitude quake that killed nearly 300 people in and around Amatrice in central Italy. In October 2016 and January 2017 three other earthquakes hit the same region.

Francesco Peduto, head of Italy's National Geologists Association, on Tuesday slammed shoddy construction and a lack of earthquake prevention measures, saying a 4.0-magnitude quake should not have brought down buildings.

"It's frankly extraordinary that people continue to die for earthquakes of this size," he said.

The quake response benefited from the presence of emergency responders already on the island to fight the forest fires that have plagued Italy this summer.

"I was on the couch watching TV. Blackout, shaking, something fell on my head. I scream, my mother grabs me and we ran outside," one witness wrote on Twitter.

Ischia's only hospital was also hit and had to be partially evacuated, with five patients transferred to another medical facility by helicopter.

Restaurants were packed and many stores were still open when the shaking began, witnesses said on Twitter.

"A horrible experience, everything was shaking, plunged into darkness, houses were collapsing... a nightmare," one wrote.

Ischia is often hit by earthquakes, with its worst dating back to July 1883, when an estimated 5.8-magnitude quake killed more than 2,000 people.

Italy straddles the Eurasian and African tectonic plates, making it vulnerable to seismic activity when they move.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

No casualties from 7.0-magnitude quake in east Russia: authorities

MOSCOW, Russia - A powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck in Russia's Far East on Saturday morning, US and Russian authorities said, although there were no reports of any casualties.

The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 0325 GMT at a depth of 160 kilometers (100 miles), in the mountainous Kamchatka Krai region on Russia's eastern coast.

The local branch of Russia's emergency situations ministry said the origin of the quake was located northwest of the regional capital Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

"The epicenter was located in the region of Yelizovo, 84 kilometers northwest of Yelizovo and 87 kilometers northwest of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky," the ministry said in a statement.

"Inhabitants of populated areas felt the tremor at magnitude of 5.0," it said, adding: "Preliminary information indicates the earthquake caused no damage or casualties."

The Russian Academy of Sciences said on its website the first tremor was followed minutes later by a 5.2-magnitude aftershock.

The quake struck in an area close to the "Ring of Fire", an arc of fault lines that circle the Pacific Ocean which is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The National and Pacific Tsunami Warning Centers said there was no risk of a tsunami.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

PH gets $500-M World Bank credit line to reduce disaster risk

MANILA - The Philippines has secured a $500 million credit line from the World Bank to support efforts to manage risks posed by natural disasters.

The Southeast Asian country can get access to the credit line if its president declares a state of calamity, the bank said in a statement.

It is the second such financing option the bank has provided the Philippines, which is the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to use such a credit line.

"If not managed well, disasters can roll back years of development gains and plunge millions of people into poverty," World Bank Country Director Motoo Konishi said.

The Philippines is frequently hit by natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, with on average more than 1,000 people killed every year, most of them by the 20 or more typhoons that hit annually.

In 2013, typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,300 people and left 1.4 million homeless in the central Philippines.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Tsunami drill unfolds across 40 countries

BOGOTA - Forty countries lying along the Pacific Ocean from Asia to the Americas are putting their tsunami early warning systems and escape drills to the test this week, with the key message for some coastal communities being "run and seek higher ground".

Loudspeakers, sirens and signs marking evacuation routes are being used in tsunami simulation exercises in countries including Colombia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, to ensure warnings reach at-risk coastal communities and get them to safety.

The United Nations-backed initiative aims to test communication systems used in earthquake and tsunami warnings and improve how countries prepare and respond to disasters.

Nearly 75 percent of deadly tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean and connected seas, according to the U.N., causing thousands of deaths and high economic losses.

National emergency response centres and agencies in 40 countries can choose one of six simulation exercises involving earthquakes off the shores of Japan, Tonga, the Philippines, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador.

Countries participating in the five-day drill that wraps up on Friday span from Thailand, China and Australia, to the Pacific Islands, the United States and south through to Chile.

They will receive messages from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii and Japan's Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center.

"This exercise will be testing a new enhanced data product that will allow governments to better forecast a tsunami's height, energy and direction of waves, and then use that data to communicate with local populations," said Bernardo Aliaga, head of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Tsunami Progamme.

It is hoped such simulation exercises will allow countries to better assess the threat posed by a tsunami or other natural disasters and determine the appropriate level of alerts to be issued.

"We know the frequency and intensity of some kind of extreme weather-related events have been increasing in recent years. Governments and communities need to prepare for such events at anytime," Aliaga told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview from Paris.

Such UNESCO-led tsunami simulation exercises in the Pacific have been held four times in the past decade.

As a result, national emergency response centres are now better equipped, and there is greater awareness among government officials about disaster preparedness, Aliaga said.

But ensuring that tsunami early warnings get through effectively to those living in remote coastal areas and that people know how to keep safe from the deadly waves, which can reach heights of 10 metres (32 feet) or more, remains a key issue.

"The most challenging aspect is to reach the most vulnerable people living in isolated villages that aren't well-connected with the information coming from the national government," Aliaga said.

He added that awareness also needs to be raised among at-risk coastal communities about how to spot an imminent tsunami through signs such as receding waves.

Another ongoing challenge is to improve coordination and communication between the various government agencies involved in issuing tsunami alerts, a problem exposed following Chile's 2010 deadly earthquake.

"The exercise is about developing standard operating procedures on what each chain of the emergency response has to do and is responsible for," Aliaga said.

Countries participating in the tsunami drill will meet in Hawaii in April to review their disaster response.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Magnitude 6 quake rattles Luzon

MANILA – A magnitude 6 earthquake hit San Antonio, Zambales before dawn on Sunday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

Phivolcs located the quake's epicenter 43 kilometers southwest of San Antonio town. The quake struck at 3:31 a.m.

Phivolcs said the following intensities were felt:

Intensity IV (moderately strong) - Pasig City; Pasay City; Manila City; Quezon City; Hagonoy, Bulacan; Makati City; San Mateo, Rizal; Obando, Bulacan

Intensity III (weak) - Tagaytay City; San Miguel, Tarlac

Intensity II (slightly felt) - Baguio City; Batangas City

Phivolcs said Intensity IV is "felt generally by people indoors and by some people outdoors. Light sleepers are awakened. Vibration is felt like a passing of heavy truck. Hanging objectsswing considerably.

"Dinner, plates, glasses, windows and doors rattle. Floors and walls of wood framed buildings creak. Standing motor cars may rock slightly. Liquids in containers are slightly disturbed. Water in containers oscillate strongly. Rumbling sound may sometimes be heard."

The quake, which was tectonic in origin, struck at a depth of 85 kilometers.

Phivolcs said the quake will not cause damage but is expected to produce aftershocks.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

ILO: 800,000 workers affected by 'Ruby'

MANILA – An estimated 800,000 workers have been affected by Typhoon Ruby, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).

ILO said the affected workers, nearly half of whom were in vulnerable employment, living in poverty and accepting whatever work is available, came from Eastern, Central and Western Visayas, Caraga, Bicol, Calabarzon, Mimaropa and Metro Manila.

Eastern Visayas took the biggest hit with over 350,000 workers or about 20 percent of the total employed in the region affected by the typhoon. Of these, more than half were in vulnerable forms of employment.

The ILO is working closely with government, employers’ and workers’ organizations and the Humanitarian Country Team to ensure that decent work and livelihood is prioritized.

“We’re not only putting much-needed cash into these areas, but also helping affected workers to develop new skills, to earn a decent wage and access better working conditions including social protection coverage. These are not just labor rights but also basic human rights, which we need to take into account in times of crisis and disaster,” said Lawrence Jeff Johnson, director of the ILO Country Office for the Philippines.

The ILO has also implemented an emergency employment program to provide workers the chance to earn an income for their family and to receive much needed goods and services.

“This injection of cash into the local economy and the purchase of local goods and services create a multiplier effect to help build back better and faster after the disaster,” said Johnson.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), meanwhile, has also allocated funds for emergency employment.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz has deployed a quick response team to immediately help displaced workers.

Typhoon Ruby first made landfall in Eastern Samar Saturday night, and crawled across the central Philippines before heading out to sea Tuesday night.

It was later downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved away from the country.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Ruby' leaves 27 dead in Eastern Samar: Red Cross

DOLORES - Tropical cyclone Ruby (international name Hagupit) weakened to a tropical storm as it churned close to Metro Manila on Monday, after killing 27 people on the eastern island of Samar where it flattened homes, toppled trees and cut power and communications.

Manila shut down as Hagupit, which means "lash" in Filipino, took aim at the tip of the main island Luzon, just south of the capital city of 12 million people.

"We now have a total of 27 dead, most of them in Borongan, Eastern Samar," said Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, adding most of the dead drowned in floodwaters.

He said around 2,500 houses were totally or partially destroyed in Borongan, a town of 64,000 people.

But despite the rising death toll, there was relief that Hagupit had not brought destruction on the scale of super typhoon Haiyan, which last year killed thousands of people in the same areas of the central Philippines.

Ruby roared in from the Pacific as a Category 3 typhoon on Saturday night, churning across Samar island and on to the smaller island of Masbate. Its effects were felt across the central Philippines, including Leyte island and southern Luzon.

"Our kitchen was wrecked. Around us, our neighbors' homes were flattened like folded paper," Arnalyn Bula, a 27-year-old bank employee, said from Dolores town in Eastern Samar, where Hagupit first made landfall.

Howling winds had pounded the walls of her aunt's home where her family sought shelter, she said.

Learning lessons from Yolanda (Haiyan), which left more than 7,000 dead or missing, the authorities had launched a massive evacuation operation ahead of the storm, emptying whole towns and villages in coastal and landslide prone areas.

"We saw that with preparation and being alert we prevented tragedy and harm, we took our countrymen away from harm," Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas told a televised government disaster meeting in Samar. "It is sad to hear news of deaths, but this is very low, way below what the potential was."

Orla Fagan, spokeswoman and advocacy officer for Asia-Pacific at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) praised the authorities efforts to alert remote communities to the approaching danger.

"They're on the game this time," Fagan said. "They have taken all of the lessons from Haiyan."

CLEAR-UP OPERATION

The Philippine weather bureau downgraded Hagupit to a tropical storm after it made three landfalls, now packing winds of 85 kph (53 mph) with gusts of up to 100 kph (62 mph).

It was on course to hit Batangas province, around 90 km (55 miles) south of Manila, on Monday evening, and would later cross Manila Bay about 50 km west of the city.

Financial markets, schools and most public offices in the capital were closed and people in low-lying areas and near waterways were moved to shelters. Soldiers and emergency workers were put on standby to respond to any contingency.

Despite the relief that Ruby had not been as devastating as was feared, a major operation remained to clear debris and get supplies to people left homeless or without power.

"People are now returning to their homes and cleaning up," Dolores town resident Bula said. "But water is scarce, potable drinking water. We received relief goods which included rice, but no water."

Proceso Alcala, the farm minister, said initial reports put crop and farm infrastructure damage at P1 billion ($22 million). Rice crops were most affected, with little damage to corn.

Alcala said the state grains agency was considering buying an additional 600,000 tonnes of rice to boost buffer stocks after damage to 48,000 tonnes of unmilled rice.

Dolores Mayor Emiliana Villacarillo said almost 100 percent of ricelands in the town were submerged by floodwaters.

"Our farmers will have to go back to square one and plant again. We will need new seedlings," she said. (Additional reporting by Rosemarie Francisco, Manny Mogato, Erik dela Cruz, and Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Editing by Jeremy Laurence and Alex Richardson)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Millions hunker down in Manila ahead of storm

MANILA - Millions of people in the Philippine capital hunkered down Monday as a major storm churned towards the megacity, after killing at least two people and destroying thousands of homes on remote islands.

However, Tropical Storm Ruby (Hagupit) weakened from a typhoon as it moved slowly across the central Philippines, fueling cautious optimism the disaster-weary Southeast Asian nation may avoid another calamity involving hundreds of deaths.

In Metro Manila, a sprawling coastal megapolis of 12 million people that regularly endures deadly flooding, well-drilled evacuation efforts went into full swing as forecasters warned of heavy rain from dusk.

"We are on 24-hour alert for floods and storm surges... it's the flooding that we are worried about," Joseph Estrada, mayor of Manila, the original city of two million within Metro Manila, told AFP.

Thousands of people, mostly the city's poorest residents who live in shanty homes along the coast and riverbanks, crammed into schools and other government evacuation centers across the megacity on Monday.

Schools were also suspended, the stock market was closed, many office and government workers were told to stay at home, and dozens of commercial flights were cancelled.

PREPARED

The preparations were part of a massive effort led by President Benigno Aquino III to ensure minimum deaths, after over 6,000 people died when Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated large parts of the central Philippines in November last year.

Millions of people in communities that were directly in the path of Hagupit over the weekend were sent into evacuation centers or ordered to remain in their homes.

The storm, the strongest to hit the Philippines this year with wind gusts of 210 kilometers (130 miles) an hour when it made landfall, caused massive destruction in remote farming and fishing towns.

Thousands of homes were destroyed, power lines were torn down, landslides choked roads, and flood waters up to one-storey high flowed through some towns.

Despite the damage, the government had by Monday morning confirmed just two deaths and there was widespread optimism that the intense focus on evacuations had saved many lives.

"All reports from affected areas have yet to come but we remain hopeful that more people have been spared," presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte told AFP.

"The common factor between them is that preemptive evacuation was carried out and warnings by authorities were taken seriously."

In Tacloban, a city of 220,000 people that was one of the worst-hit during Haiyan, authorities said there were no casualties over the weekend despite fierce winds that destroyed homes.

"There is a collective sigh of relief... we were better prepared after Yolanda," Tacloban vice mayor Jerry Yaokasin told AFP on Sunday, referring to Haiyan by its Philippine name.

However just as crucially, Hagupit's winds were significantly weaker than Haiyan, which was the strongest storm ever recorded on land. There was also no repeat of Haiyan's tsunami-like storm surges.

Hagupit's sustained winds dropped to 140 kilometers an hour on Sunday, then continued to weaken after leaving the eastern Philippine islands and passing over the Sibuyan Sea southeast of Manila.

Its winds were down to 110 kilometers an hour on Monday morning and were expected to weaken further as it passed just south of the capital in the evening, according to local weather agency Pagasa.

However Pagasa said the winds were still capable of doing major damage to homes, and heavy rains were expected within Hagupit's 450-kilometer-wide weather front.

CLIMATE CHANGE

The Philippines endures about 20 major storms a year, many of them deadly.

But scientists say the storms are becoming more violent and unpredictable because of climate change.

Greenpeace International director Kumi Naidoo called on United Nations negotiators currently meeting in Peru to take note of Hagupit and act with more urgency to hammer out a world pact on global warming.

"Nature does not negotiate. We actually have to wake up and smell the coffee," Naidoo, who is in the Philippines to "bear witness" to Hagupit, told AFP.

"We need to understand that we are running out of time."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Ruby' moves faster; Signal No. 2 in Manila by Monday

MANILA -- Typhoon "Ruby" (international name "Hagupit") has weakened, but started to move faster as it nears landfall, state weather bureau PAGASA said Saturday afternoon.

In its 5 p.m. advisory, PAGASA said Ruby slightly weakened and is now packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 210 kph.

It was last spotted 100 kilometers east of Dolores, Eastern Samar, maintaining its westward course and is now moving faster at 16 kph.

Ruby is expected to make landfall over Dolores, Eastern Samar between 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and bring strong winds and storm surges of up to 4.5 meters along with heavy to intense rainfall.

PAGASA weather forecaster Christopher Perez said they have observed hourly variations in Ruby's speed, but these are not expected to affect the forecast positions.

"Doon po sa pagtaya natin na within a 24-hour period, inaasahan natin na hindi naman po lalayo, bagama't may hourly variations sa speed, we're still expecting na 'yung variation na 'yun ay hindi malaki ang difference sa forecast position natin within 24 hours," Perez added.

Storm signal number 3 has been hoisted over the following areas. These areas should expect winds of 101 to 185 kph in at least 18 hours.

Luzon:

Catanduanes
Albay including Burias Island
Sorsogon
Masbate
Ticao Island

Visayas:

Northern Samar
Eastern Samar
Samar
Biliran

Signal number 2 (winds of 61 to 100 kph in at least 24 hours) is up over the following areas:

Luzon:

Camarines Sur
Romblon

Visayas:

Aklan
Capiz
Northern Cebu including Cebu City
Bantayan Island
Leyte
Southern Leyte

Signal number 1 (winds of 30 to 60 kph in at least 36 hours) remains up over the following areas:

Luzon:

Southern Quezon
Camarines Norte
Marinduque
Batangas
Occidental Mindoro
Oriental Mindoro

Visayas:

Antique
Iloilo
Guimaras
Northern Negros
Rest of Cebu
Bohol

Mindanao:

Surigao del Norte, including Siargao Island
Dinagat Island

Residents in these areas should brace for possible flooding and landslides, PAGASA said.

It added Ruby and the northeast monsoon will bring rough to very rough sea conditions over the seaboards of northern Luzon and Visayas, eastern seaboard of central and southern Luzon, and northern and eastern seaboards of Mindanao.

Fisherfolk and those using small seacraft are advised not to venture out over these seaboards.

PAGASA said Ruby is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) by Wednesday morning.

Ruby is also expected to maintain its strength as it passes over Visayas region.

"Possible itong ma-maintain lang dahil itong Kabisayaan at Southern Luzon ay separated by bodies of water. Isa 'yan sa pinagkukunan ng enerhiya ng mga bagyo, unlike kung tumawid siya sa talagang malawak na landmass. But at the moment, we're looking at the possibility na mamaintain ang strength throughout its course," Perez explained.

SIGNAL #2 IN METRO MANILA BY MONDAY

Dr. Vicente Malano of PAGASA also warned that Metro Manila may experience heavy rains as Ruby passes over Mindoro area by Monday.

"Ang inaasahan po natin ay aabot tayo nang Signal number 2 sa Manila sa Lunes, around 2 a.m. Pero bago pa mag-Lunes, may signal na tayo sa Manila, dahil ito ay 24 hours bago darating [ang bagyo]," Malano added.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

DBP allots add'l P10B for Yolanda victims

MANILA, Philippines - State-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has set aside an additional P10 billion for assistance to local government units and business enterprises affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Through its National Rehabilitation Fund for Calamity Stricken Areas, DBP said the fund will support of the National Government’s efforts to speed up the economic recovery of the calamity-stricken areas in the Visayas.

The facility is intended for the rehabilitation of DBP-financed projects adversely affected by calamities such as those of local and national government agencies.

These funds are also available to existing non-DBP financed projects that will hasten the development of communities and regions adversely affected by the calamities.

“This is an existing facility of the bank that we have implemented, and are now beefing up to help in the reconstruction of the areas damaged by Super Typhoon Yolanda. DBP recognizes the severe loss of businesses and properties, and shall work with existing as well as new clients in the devastated areas,” DBP president and CEO Gil Buenaventura said.

For eligible existing DBP clients/ borrowers, the nature of assistance may be in the form of deferment/ moratorium of payment of loan amortization, restructuring of accounts, additional loan, and condonation of condonable charges.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Dinky pleads for understanding of looters

MANILA – Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman on Tuesday said the people should not be so quick to judge survivors of typhoon "Yolanda" who have resorted to looting in order to survive.

"Ngayon lang naman tayo nagka-disaster na ganito ang naging responde ng mga tao. At para sa akin, unawain natin sila. Hindi nila inakala na ganito ang mangyayari sa kanila," Soliman told dzMM.

She added that sheer magnitude of the devastation brought by the typhoon has forced the hungry and tired survivors to resort to lawlessness.

"[Naiisip siguro nila] 'Bakit nangyari sa akin ito? Galit ako sa lahat, ang akin lang magagawa ay gumawa ng mga pagkilos na ito,'" she said.

Soliman said the most important thing now is that help is coming to the severely battered city of Tacloban in Leyte, and Guiuan in Eastern Samar.

"Ngayon ang pinakamahalagang mangyari, tuloy-tuloy ang bigay ng pagkain, dahil sa aking pagtingin, sa galit, sa frustration, sa sama ng loob, ang mga tao, masyadong heightened ang pangangailangan na ma-assure na sila ay hindi mauubusan," Soliman said, reacting to reports that some survivors were blocking vehicles carrying relief goods.

State of national calamity, curfew

President Benigno Aquino on Monday night declared a state of national calamity following the devastation caused by the typhoon.

The declaration will allow the national government to fast-track delivery of aid and basic services, particularly in typhoon-hit areas in the Visayas.

Around P18.7 billion in government funds can be used to help victims and rebuild communities, Aquino said. Some P1.1 billion in Quick Response Funds were also allotted for the DSWD and the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Over 20 countries, as well as foreign aid organizations and the private sector, are helping in the relief efforts.

To address the crime incidents plaguing badly-hit Tacloban, the Philippine government said Tuesday it had deployed armored vehicles, set up checkpoints and imposed a curfew to help end looting in the city.

Tacloban -- on the central island of Leyte -- bore the brunt of Friday's category-five storm with at least 10,000 people feared to have died there, according to the United Nations.

The devastated provincial capital -- a city of 220,000 residents -- has also seen some of the worst pillaging. Famished survivors desperate for food and medical supplies have ransacked aid convoys, hampering relief efforts.

Survivors have reported gangs stealing consumer goods including televisions and washing machines from small businesses.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said four Simba armored personnel carriers had been deployed to contain looting and help restore law and order, a day after hundreds of Philippine soldiers and police were sent to the city.

"We are circulating them (the Simbas) in the city to show the people, especially those with bad intentions, that the authorities have returned," Roxas told DZMM radio.

Checkpoints have been set up to stop people from mobbing relief trucks, he said.

Many resorted to looting with a charity saying that in one case, a man with a machete tried to rob aid workers who were receiving a delivery of medicine.

"The presence of policemen, military and government forces will definitely improve things (but) it will not be overnight," Roxas said, confirming reports that the Tacloban city government had imposed a curfew on residents of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

"It is a tool that we are using to minimize the looting and break-ins. We know some people cannot return home (during the curfew) because their homes were washed away but it is more effective against roving gangs who are looking for targets of opportunity," he said.

It is not clear where newly homeless residents are meant to go during this period.

Roxas added that the public works department had cleared at least one lane of a highway entering the city, which would speed up entry of supplies. It is hoped that incidences of looting will decrease as food relief flows to isolated areas.

Roxas said the government's three main priorities were to restore peace and order, bring in relief goods and start collecting corpses.

"Now that we have achieved number one and two, the priority is the recovery of the cadavers," he said. – with Agence France-Presse

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Yolanda' survivors beg for help

Death toll could rise once isolated coastal villages are reached

Roads, airports and bridges destroyed

U.S. sends Marines and sailors to help

TACLOBAN, Philippines - Dazed survivors of a super typhoon that swept through the central Philippines killing an estimated 10,000 people begged for help and scavenged for food, water and medicine on Monday, threatening to overwhelm military and rescue resources.

As President Benigno Aquino deployed hundreds of soldiers in the coastal city of Tacloban to quell looting, reports from one town showed apocalyptic scenes of destruction in another region that has not been reached by rescue workers or the armed forces.

The government has not confirmed officials' estimates over the weekend of 10,000 deaths, but the toll from Haiyan, one of the strongest typhoons ever recorded, is clearly far higher than the current official count of 255. The Armed Forces in the central Philippines on Monday reported a death toll of 942.

"The situation is bad, the devastation has been significant. In some cases the devastation has been total," Secretary to the Cabinet Rene Almendras told a news conference.

The United Nations said officials in Tacloban, which bore the brunt of the storm on Friday, had reported one mass grave of 300-500 bodies.

More than 600,000 people were displaced by the storm across the country and some have no access to food, water, or medicine, the U.N. says.

Flattened by surging waves and monster winds up to 235 mph (378 kph), Tacloban, 580 km (360 miles) southeast of Manila, was relying almost entirely for supplies and evacuation on just three military transport planes flying from nearby Cebu city.

Dozens of residents clamoured for help at the airport gates.

"Help us, help us. Where is President Aquino? We need water, we are very thirsty," shouted one woman. "When are you going to get bodies from the streets?"

Haiyan is estimated to have destroyed about 70 to 80 percent of structures in its path as it tore into the coastal provinces of Leyte and Samar. The damage to the coconut- and rice-growing region was expected to amount to more than 3 billion pesos ($69 million), Citi Research said in a report, with "massive losses" for private property.

Most of the damage and deaths were caused by huge waves that inundated towns and swept away coastal villages in scenes that officials likened to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Bodies litter the streets of the Tacloban, rotting and swelling under the hot sun and adding to the health risk.

International aid agencies said relief resources in the Philippines were stretched thin after a 7.2 magnitude quake in central Bohol province last month and displacement caused by a conflict with Muslim rebels in southern Zamboanga province.

Operations were further hampered because roads, airports and bridges had been destroyed or were covered in wreckage. Threatening to add to the crisis in the impoverished area, a tropical depression carrying heavy rain was forecast to arrive in the region as early as Tuesday.

Awelina Hadloc, the owner of a convenience store, foraged for instant noodles at a warehouse that was almost bare from looting. She said her store had been washed away by a 10-foot (3-metre) storm surge.

"It is so difficult. It is like we are starting again," said the 28-year-old. "There are no more supplies in the warehouse and the malls."

Aquino, facing one of the biggest challenges of his three-year rule, deployed 300 soldiers and police to restore order in Tacloban after looters rampaged through several stores.

Aquino, who before the storm said the government was aiming for zero casualties, has shown exasperation at conflicting official reports on damage and deaths. One TV network quoted him as telling the head of the disaster agency that he was running out of patience.

DEATH TOLL COULD CLIMB

The official death toll is likely to climb rapidly once rescuers reach remote villages along the coast, such as Guiuan, a town in eastern Samar province with a population of 40,000 that was largely destroyed.

"The only reason why we have no reports of casualties up to now is that communications systems ... are down," said Colonel John Sanchez, posting on the Armed Forces Facebook page.

About 300 people died in Samar, said an official from the provincial disaster agency. Baco, a city of 35,000 in Oriental Mindoro province, was 80 percent under water, the U.N. said.

U.S. aid groups also launched a multimillion-dollar relief campaign. An official from one group, World Vision, said there were early reports that as much as 90 percent of northern Cebu had been destroyed. An aid team from Oxfam reported "utter destruction" in the northern-most tip of Cebu.

Thirteen people were killed and dozens hurt during heavy winds and storms in Vietnam as Haiyan approached the coast, state media reported, even though it had weakened substantially after hitting the Philippines.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Miracle' baby born in typhoon rubble

TACLOBAN - Emily Sagalis cried tears of joy after giving birth to a "miracle" girl in a typhoon-ravaged Philippine city, then named the baby after her mother who went missing in the storm.

The girl was born Monday in a destroyed airport compound that was turned into a makeshift medical centre, with her bed a piece of dirty plywood resting amid dirt, broken glass, twisted metal, nails and other debris.

"She is so beautiful. I will name her Bea Joy in honour of my mother, Beatriz," Sagalis, 21, whispered shortly after giving birth.

Sagalis said her mother was swept away when giant waves generated by Super Typhoon Haiyan surged into their home near Tacloban city, the capital of Leyte province which was one of the worst-hit areas, and she has not been seen since.

More than 10,000 people are believed to have died in Leyte, and many hundreds on other islands across the central Philippines, which would make Haiyan the country's worst recorded natural disaster.

But, in the most tragic of circumstances, Bea Joy restarted the cycle of life.

"She is my miracle. I had thought I would die with her still inside me when high waves came and took us all away," she said, as her teary-eyed husband, Jobert, clasped the baby and a volunteer held an IV drip above them.

The husband said the first wave that came carried their wooden home in the coastal town of San Jose many metres inland, washing all of the family outside.

He said the entire community had been washed away, with the once picturesque area replaced by rubble and the bloated remains of people and animals.

"We are supposed to be celebrating today, but we are also mourning our dead," Jobert said.

He said it was God's will that he found his wife floating amongst the debris.

They were carried away for what felt like hours until the water subsided, and they found themselves sheltering in a school building where other mud-soaked and injured survivors had huddled.

The couple and their surviving neighbours subsisted there until Monday morning only on bottles of water they found among the debris. Jobert said he knew that his wife was about to give birth any day, but no help or aid had come.

"She began labour at 5:00 am (Monday) so we had to walk several kilometres before a truck driver hitched us a ride," he said.

The young military doctor who attended to her, Captain Victoriano Sambale, said the new mother had already broken her waters by the time the couple stepped inside the building, and then developed bleeding during the delivery.

"This is the first time we have delivered a baby here. The baby is fine and we have managed to stop the bleeding of the mother," he said.

However, he cautioned doctors were extremely concerned about potential infections that could easily be caught amid the unsterile conditions, with the medical team almost powerless now to help her.

"Definitely the mother is still in danger from infection and sepsis (septicemia). So we need to give her intravenous antibiotics. Unfortunately we ran out of even the oral antibiotics yesterday," Sambale said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Massive destruction in Tacloban City

'Yolanda' wipes out Tacloban City

MANILA -- Tacloban City in Leyte felt the wrath of super typhoon "Yolanda," with storm surges wiping out houses and flooding many areas in the city.

The destructive typhoon completely wiped out Barangay San Jose, a coastal village in the city, as shown in the video footage taken by ABS-CBN veteran broadcast journalist and TV Patrol anchor Ted Failon.

Failon, who was in Tacloban City during the height of Yolanda, was able to capture the devastation wrought by the storm surges and strong winds.

He described the storm surges as "paglamon ng karagatan sa mga lugar na malapit sa dagat."

He and his news team lost contact with ABS-CBN on Friday after telecommunications and electricity towers were toppled by the typhoon.

The storm surge, which possibly affected the entire downtown Tacloban, also swept away an ABS-CBN crew vehicle and destroyed transmission equipment.

Failon, who is now in Cebu, showed the footage that took during and after Yolanda's onslaught on Saturday.

The video shows houses completely destroyed, trees toppled, and large piles of debris scattered on the streets.

It also shows Failon helping a boy lift the body of his father, who was killed at the height of the typhoon.

The video also shows the bodies of three children and their grandmother who were killed after being trapped inside their house during the storm surge.

According to the aunt of the children, their parents have yet to be informed of their death.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

World's strongest typhoon brings devastation

* Yolanda (Haiyan) potentially strongest typhoon ever to make landfall

* Wind gust of about 300 kph (186 mph), whips up giant waves

* More than a million flee, take refuge in shelters

MANILA - The strongest typhoon in the world this year and possibly the most powerful ever to hit land battered the Philippines on Friday, forcing more than a million people to flee, cutting power lines and blowing apart houses.

Yolanda (Haiyan), a category-5 super typhoon, scoured the northern tip of Cebu Province and headed west towards Boracay island, both of them tourist destinations, after lashing the central islands of Leyte and Samar with 275 kph (170 mph) wind gusts and 5-6 meter (15-19 ft) waves.

Three people were killed and seven injured, national disaster agency spokesman Rey Balido told a news briefing at the main army base in Manila. The death toll could rise as reports come in from stricken areas.

Power and communications in the three large island provinces of Samar, Leyte and Bohol were almost completely down but the government and telephone service providers promised to restore them within 24 hours.

Authorities warned that more than 12 million people were at risk, including residents of Cebu City, which has a population of about 2.5 million, and areas still reeling from a deadly 2011 storm and a 7.2-magnitude quake last month.

"The super typhoon likely made landfall with winds near 195 mph (313 kph). This makes Haiyan (Yolanda) the strongest tropical cyclone on record to make landfall," said Jeff Masters, director of meteorology at U.S.-based Weather Underground.

Typhoons and cyclones of that magnitude can blow apart storm shelters with the pressure they create, which can suck walls out and blow roofs off buildings.

"Power is off all across the island and the streets are deserted," said

Lionel Dosdosa, an International Organization for Migration coordinator on Bohol island, the epicenter of an Oct. 15 earthquake that killed 222 people and displaced hundreds of thousands, said power was off and streets were deserted.

"It's dark and gloomy, alternating between drizzle and heavy rain," he said.

About a million people took shelter in 29 provinces, after President Benigno Aquino appealed to people in Yolanda's path to leave vulnerable areas, such as along river banks, coastal villages and mountain slopes.

"Our school is now packed with evacuees," an elementary school teacher in Southern Leyte who only gave her name as Feliza told a radio station. Leyte and Southern Leyte are about 630 km (390 miles) southeast of Manila.

NO POWER, PRAYERS

Roger Mercado, governor of Southern Leyte province, said no one should underestimate the storm.

"It is very powerful," Mercado told DZBB radio. "We lost power and all roads are impassable because of fallen trees. We just have to pray."

In Samar province, links with some towns and villages had been cut, officials said.

"The whole province has no power," Samar Governor Sharee Tan told Reuters by telephone. Fallen trees, toppled electric poles and other debris blocked roads, she said.

Authorities suspended ferry services and fishing and shut 13 airports. Nearly 450 domestic and eight international flights were suspended.

Schools, offices and shops in the central Philippines were closed, with hospitals, soldiers and emergency workers preparing for rescue operations. Twenty navy ships and various military aircraft including three C-130 cargo planes and helicopters were on standby.

The state weather bureau said Yolanda was expected to move past the Philippines on Saturday and out over the South China Sea, where it could become even stronger and threaten Vietnam or China.

The world's strongest recorded typhoon, cyclone or hurricane to make landfall was Hurricane Camille in 1969, which hit Mississippi with 305 kph (190 mph) winds, said Weather Underground's Masters.

An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year.

Last year, Typhoon Bopha (Pablo) flattened three coastal towns on Mindanao, killed 1,100 people and caused damage estimated at $1.04 billion.

Yolanda is the 24th such storm to hit the Philippines this year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Super typhoon Yolanda stronger than Pablo: US military

Super typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) will be packing maximum sustained winds of around 268 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts reaching 324 kph when it slams into the Samar-Leyte area Friday, the US military's weather bureau said Wednesday.

In comparison, super typhoon Pablo had 259 kph sustained winds and 314 kph gusts when it hit Mindanao in December 2012, according to the Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) run by the US Navy and Air Force.

The JTWC expects Yolanda to reach peak strength today, November 6, and sustain its full Category 5 ferocity until it makes landfall.

The weather agency said the super typhoon is already carrying 250 kph maximum sustained winds and 305 kph gusts as it barrels toward the Philippines.

It expects the tropical cyclone to intensify further in the next 36 hours while it crosses the warm waters of the Philippine Sea.

"STY Haiyan (Yolanda) will make landfall just prior to TAU 48, over the Central Philippines. [It] will weaken as it tracks across the Philippine islands, but should emerge over the South China Sea as a 110 knot (203 kph) typhoon," the JTWC added.

State weather bureau PAGASA has yet to raise public storm warning signals in the country, as of posting Wednesday night, as the tropical cyclone is still out of the Philippine area of responsibility.

The weather bureau said storm signal number 4 could be raised in Bicol and eastern Visayas, where it is expected to make landfall.

"Nakikita natin na talagang malakas yung bagyo. Dapat maghanda tayo dahil pupwede po talagang mag-iissue tayo ng pinakamataas nating signal," PAGASA acting deputy administrator Flaviana Hilario said Wednesday.

"Iyung hangin na tatama dun sa isang lugar ay lalagpas sa 185 kph. Iyun pa lamang ay talagang delubyo na yung mangyayari dun sa area na tataasan natin ng signal number 4," said Robert Sawi, officer-in-charge of PAGASA's weather division.

Sawi said Yolanda's strong winds could be powerful enough to uproot large trees, topple electric posts, and tear roofs off houses.

"Iyung intensity na 185 kph, sobrang lakas na ito, baka halos wala nang matirang puno sa lugar," he said.

PAGASA doesn't have a super typhoon category and its measurements on the strength of cyclones differ from the JTWC and foreign agencies.





Philippines prepares 

Meantime, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) expressed optimism Wednesday on preparedness measures for the incoming super typhoon that is expected to hit central Philippines on Friday afternoon.

The cyclone is expected to directly affect the Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and up to the Bicol Region.

In a press briefing, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said that they have drawn up an action plan.

Bohol province is a special concern for the NDRRMC because the communities on the island were severely affected by the recent magnitude 7.2 earthquake last October 15.

Authorities were told by PAGASA that super typhoon Yolanda will not hit Bohol directly.

PAGASA Director Vic Malano said Yolanda was still in the Pacific Ocean, outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility, and was packing sustained winds of 175 kph, based on the bureau's measurements.

Malano said cyclones gain strength while moving across the ocean.

The state weather bureau, in a press briefing Wednesday, said Yolanda could be strongest typhoon to hit the country this year.

Hospitals in Bohol were advised to evacuate their patients from buildings, and those staying in tents were told to go to more sturdy shelters.

The Bohol provincial government is now looking for new evacuation sites for people fleeing the cyclone's wrath. Most evacuation centers in the province were destroyed during the recent quake.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said the government is now trying to look for safer structures for quake victims in Bohol.

The DSWD said 83,203 packs of relief goods are already pre-postioned in areas that will be hit by the super typhoon.

The Department of Education, meanwhile, ordered school officials to coordinate with barangay officials for the possible conversion of schools into evacuation centers.

So far, only Albay Governor Joey Salceda and Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide have sent word to the NDRRMC on the declaration of class suspensions in all levels starting Thursday in their respective areas.

The DPWH is also pre-positioning equipment in areas on the supertyphoon's path.

Romblon, meanwhile, has been placed on red alert, the provincial government said.

Tony Salsona, head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said the move will help prepare Rombon which could be directly hit by the super typhoon.

Fishermen in the province have also been barred from going out to sea.






UN on alert 

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) also raised an alert Wednesday on the typhoon's impending landfall.

It said Yolanda is now classified as a Category 4 cyclone as it moves towards the Philippines.

"Various weather forecast models have compared Haiyan to Category 5 Typhoon Mike (locally known as Ruping) which hit the Philippines in November 1990," UNOCHA said.

Ruping killed 508 people, destroyed 222,026 houses, and damaged 630,885 other houses.

"The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim has offered to provide technical support in joint rapid needs assessment to the Executive Director of the NDRRMC which was welcomed," UNOCHA said in a statement.

"A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is being deployed in close coordination with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management to enhance the capacity of the Humanitarian Country Team to support the government," it added. - with reports from Jorge Cariño and Jeff Canoy, ABS-CBN News; Dennis Datu, dzMM; ANC

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

85 dead as strong quake rocks Visayas

A powerful earthquake killed at least 85 people in the Philippines Tuesday as it tore down modern buildings, destroyed historic churches and triggered terrified stampedes across popular tourist islands.

Fifteen of the confirmed fatalities were in Cebu, the country's second most important city and a gateway to some of its most beautiful beaches, the national disaster agency reported.

The 7.1-magnitude quake killed another 69 people in the neighboring island of Bohol, famed for its rolling "Chocolate Hills", while one other person died on nearby Siquijor, which attracts tourists with its pristine white sands.

"I was thrown to the ground by the strength of the quake. Broken glass rained on me," Elmo Alinsunorin, who was on duty as a guard for a government tax office in Cebu, told AFP.

"I thought I was going to die."

Authorities said the death toll could still climb, with officials struggling to assess the extent of the damage in the worst-hit areas of Bohol where roads were impassable and power was cut.

Nevertheless, they expressed relief the earthquake occurred on a public holiday, meaning there were fewer people than normal in many of the major buildings that suffered damage.

The quake struck at 08:12 (0012 GMT) near Balilihan, a town of about 18,000 people on Bohol, at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles), the USGS reported.

The town lies across a strait about 60 kilometres from Cebu.

Cebu, with a population of 2.5 million people, is the political, economic, educational and cultural centre of the central Philippines.

It hosts the country's busiest port and the largest airport outside of the capital Manila. It also has a major ship building industry.

A university, a school and two shopping malls, public markets and many small buildings sustained damage in the quake.







Mass panic sparks stampede

Three of the people who died in Cebu were crushed to death in a stampede at a sports complex, where poor people had gathered to collect regular government cash handouts, according to the provincial disaster council chief, Neil Sanchez.

"There was panic when the quake happened and there was a rush toward the exit," Sanchez told AFP.

He said two other people were killed when part of a school collapsed on a car they had parked in, while four others died at a fish market that crumbled.

The Philippines' oldest church, Cebu's Basilica Minore del Santo Nino, was badly damaged, with its limsetone belfry in ruins.

It was first built in the 1500s by Spanish colonisers, although its current structure dates back to the 1700s.

A church on Bohol that was first built in the early 1600s also collapsed, according to Robert Michael Poole, a British tourist who was visiting the area.

"It's absolutely devastated... the entire front of the church has collapsed onto the street," Poole told AFP by telephone.

However he said there was nobody in the church at the time of the quake.

Aside from its beaches, Bohol is famous for its more than 1,000 small limestone "Chocolate Hills" that turn brown during the dry season.

One of the main tourist venues there, the Chocolate Hills Complex, was severely damaged and may be beyond repair, according to Delapan Ingleterra, head of a local tourist police unit.

"There are huge cracks in the hotel and there was a collapse of the view deck on the second floor," Ingleterra told AFP, adding that no-one was injured at the complex.

There were no reports of foreign tourists being killed anywhere in the disaster zone.

Tuesday's quake was followed by at least four aftershocks measuring more than 5.0 in magnitude.

The epicenter was 629 kilometers from Manila.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Ring of Fire, a vast Pacific Ocean region where many of Earth's earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur.

More than 100 people were left dead or missing in February last year after an earthquake struck on Negros island, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter of Tuesday's quake.

The deadliest recorded natural disaster in the Philippines occurred in 1976, when a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated the Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindanao.

Between 5,000 and 8,000 people were killed, according to official estimates.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

73 dead as strong quake rocks Visayas

Seventy-three people have been confirmed killed in a powerful earthquake that struck the central Philippines on Tuesday, authorities said.

At least 57 people died on the island of Bohol, where the 7.2-magnitude quake's epicenter struck, according to Bohol police chief Senior Superintendent Dennis Agustin.

The national disaster agency had previously reported 16 deaths on the neighboring islands of Cebu and Siquijor.

The 7.2-magnitude quake caused centuries-old churches and modern buildings to crumble, while major roads were also ripped open and blocked by landslides.

"I was fast sleep when suddenly I woke up because my bed was shaking. I was so shocked, I could do nothing but hide under the bed," Janet Maribao, 33, a receptionist in Cebu, told AFP.

The affected areas are famed for their idyllic white sands and turquoise waters.

Civil defense office spokesman Reynaldo Balido Jr. and others involved in the relief and rescue operations warned the death toll would climb, with the full extent of the damage yet to be assessed.

Nevertheless, they expressed relief the earthquake occurred on a public holiday, meaning there were fewer people than normal in many of the major buildings that suffered damage.

The quake struck at 08:12 (0012 GMT) near Balilihan, a town of about 18,000 people on Bohol, at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles), the USGS reported.

The town lies across a strait about 60 kilometers from Cebu.

Cebu, with a population of 2.5 million people, is the political, economic, educational and cultural center of the central Philippines.

It hosts the country's busiest port and largest airport outside of the capital Manila. It also has a major ship building industry.

A university, a school and two shopping malls sustained major damage in the quake.

Three of the people who died in Cebu were crushed to death in a stampede at a sports complex, where poor people had gathered to collect regular government cash handouts, according to the the provincial disaster council chief, Neil Sanchez.

"There was panic when the quake happened and there was a rush toward the exit," Sanchez told AFP.

He said two other people were killed when part of a school collapsed on a car they had parked in, while four others died at a fish market that crumbled.

The Philippines' oldest church, Cebu's Basilica Minore del Santo Nino, was badly damaged, according to Balido.

It was first built in the 1500s by Spanish colonizers, although its current stone structure dates back to the 1700s.

A church in Bohol that was built in the early 1600s also collapsed, according to Robert Michael Poole, a British tourist who was visiting the area.

"It's absolutely devastated... the entire front of the church has collapsed onto the street," Poole told AFP by telephone.

However he said there was nobody in the church at the time of the quake.

Aside from its beaches, Bohol is famous for its more than 1,000 small limestone "Chocolate Hills" that turn brown during the dry season.

One of the main tourist venues there, the Chocolate Hills Complex, was severely damaged and may be beyond repair, according to Delapan Ingleterra, head of a local tourist police unit.

"There are huge cracks in the hotel and there was a collapse of the view deck on the second floor," he told AFP. However he said no-one was injured there.

Tuesday's quake was followed by at least four aftershocks measuring more than 5.0 in magnitude.

The epicenter was 629 kilometers from Manila.

The Philippines lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a chain of islands that are prone to quakes and volcanic eruptions.

More than 100 people were left dead or missing in February last year after an earthquake struck on Negros island, about 100 kilometers from the epicenter of Tuesday's quake.

The deadliest recorded natural disaster in the Philippines occurred in 1976, when a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated the Moro Gulf on the southern island of Mindanao.

Between 5,000 and 8,000 people were killed, according to official estimates.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Class suspensions for Tuesday, August 20

Several areas will again suspend classes tomorrow as rains and floods continue to wreak havoc in several areas.

* Cavite Governor Juanito Victor “Jonvic” Remulla said classes will again be suspended in all levels in the province on Tuesday. This was announced on his Facebook and Twitter pages.

Cavite declared a state of calamity on Monday because of incessant rains and heavy flooding. At least two residents there have been killed, while another remains missing.

* Laguna, classes in all levels.

* Paranaque, classes in all levels

* Las Pinas, classes in all levels.

* Bataan, classes in all levels.

* Muntinlupa, classes in all levels.

* Pateros, classes in all levels.

* Dagupan, classes in all levels

* Manila, classes in all levels

* Pasay, pre-school to high school



Schools that have also cancelled classes for Tuesday, August 20, are:

Far Eastern University Manila

FEU East Asia College

FEU Makati

University of Perpetual Help (Dalta, Las Pinas, Molino, Calamba)

Perpetual Help College of Manila

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com