Typhoon Mawar leaves trail of destruction as it moves from Guam

LOS ANGELES, United States — A typhoon that slammed into Guam, knocking out power and flooding buildings with a powerful storm surge, was moving away Thursday -- leaving residents of the US Pacific Ocean territory to survey the damage.

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero was set to venture out when conditions allow to see what damage has been wrought on the island, a key US military outpost and home to 170,000 people.

The governor and civil defense groups will look for "any major damages or blocked roadways in the wake of Typhoon Mawar," a statement said Thursday.

"As Guam received the full brunt of the typhoon overnight, the assessment will help determine what damages may have occurred."

Mawar brought winds of up to 225 kilometers (140 miles) an hour, the US National Weather Service reported, generating waves nine meters (30 feet) high.

There were no reported deaths or injuries.

At one of the island's many hotels, the 30-floor Dusit Thani Guam Resort housing about 300 guests, desk clerk Casey Hattori said the lobby was inundated with a foot of water, even with the front door barricaded with boards and bags of concrete. Outside, trees snapped in howling wind.

"I can hear the walls shaking. The wind is super strong. I can hear it whistling as it comes through the cracks of the doors," Hattori told AFP.

Fearful tourists were evacuated from flooded rooms to a sixth floor ballroom, she said.

Images on social media showed the impact of winds that had uprooted trees, swept away vehicles and dislodged roofs, throwing debris everywhere.

Tens of thousands of homes were without power Thursday, the Guam Power Authority said, but noted that a total blackout had been avoided.

"We are working hard to maintain the last remaining customers through the storm, which contributes to quicker recovery after the winds die down later tonight or in the early morning hours," the agency said, according to the Pacific Daily News.

The NWS said Mawar was now a Super Typhoon, and forecasting models suggested it was heading towards Taiwan or the Philippines.

"As sunlight is starting to peek, we are waking up to a rather disturbing scene out there across Guam," one forecaster said during a morning update Thursday.

"We are looking out our door and what used to be a jungle looks like toothpicks. It looks like a scene from the movie 'Twister,' with trees just thrashed apart."

The agency said Guam remained under a typhoon warning, with destructive gusts and heavy surf expected.

Ocean conditions are still treacherous, even for large vessels, it said.

"Residents are urged to stay off the roads and remain in safe, hardened shelters" for now, emergency officials warned.

In Washington, the White House said President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation.

"The White House is in close contact with the government of Guam and has offered as much support as needed," a spokeswoman said.

About 21,700 US military personnel and their families are based on Guam, which routinely hosts nuclear attack submarines and long-range bombers.

The territory is also home to key electronic listening posts, and the US bases have some of the Pacific region's most significant ammunition and fuel storage facilities.

Lieutenant Commander Katie Koenig, spokesperson for Joint Region Marianas said military aircraft and ships departed before the destructive winds began or were sheltered in hangars, "except for one vessel which remains in port due to an inoperable engine."

Koenig added that all military and civilian personnel were instructed to take shelter.

"Our service members throughout the Marianas routinely exercise natural disaster response and are ready and postured to respond... once the 'all clear' order is given," she said.

Agence France-Presse

Seven dead as Typhoon Vamco triggers Philippine capital's worst floods in years

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday ordered government agencies to hasten relief efforts after a powerful typhoon killed at least seven people and unleashed some of the worst flooding in years in the capital Manila.

Duterte cut short his attendance of a virtual meeting of Southeast Asian leaders to inspect the damage from Typhoon Vamco, moments after a speech during which he urged his counterparts to urgently combat the effects of climate change.

The typhoon, the eighth to hit the Philippines in the past two months and 21st of the year, forced residents to scramble onto rooftops to await rescue after tens of thousands of homes were submerged.

Those killed across the main island of Luzon, home to half of the country’s 108 million population, included people who drowned, an elderly man hit by a tree and three workers crushed when a warehouse collapsed.

It struck areas still reeling from Goni, the most powerful typhoon in the world this year, which killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes earlier this month.

“Rest assured, the government will not leave anybody behind,” Duterte said in a national address, pledging shelter, relief goods, financial aid and counselling.

Nearly 200,000 people were evacuated before Vamco arrived late on Wednesday packing winds of 155 kilometres (96 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 255 kph (158 mph). It has since weakened and exited the mainland.

Duterte told Southeast Asian leaders the devastation of recent weeks was “a stark reminder of the urgency of collective action to combat the effects of climate change”.

‘OVERWHELMING’

Nearly three million households in and around Manila were without power as people waded through waist-high floods, carrying valuables and pets.

Coastguard swam through brown floodwater as high as electricity poles in some areas, while rescue workers used rubber boats and makeshift floats to move children and the elderly to safety.

In some suburbs east of Manila, residents took refuge atop flooded homes.

“The flood reached the entire second floor of our house. For more than eight hours, we stayed at our neighbour’s house,” call center worker Albert Rano, 35, told Reuters.

“Aside from some clothes and laptops, nothing is left.”

The typhoons have battered the Philippines as it faces an uphill struggle to breathe life into its withering economy while keeping coronavirus infections under control.

Roughly 40,000 homes had either been fully or partially submerged in the Marikina area, a situation its mayor, Marcelino Teodoro, said was “overwhelming” and the worst since a typhoon flooded large swathes of the capital in 2009.

“The local government cannot handle this,” Teodoro told DZMM radio, requesting motorised boats and airlifts.

Residents posted images on social media of flooded homes and the disaster agency said parts of 36 cities and towns were inundated.

Flights and mass transit in Manila were suspended and port operations stopped. Government work was halted and financial markets shut.

Vamco was headed towards Vietnam, where devastating floods and mudslides over the past month have killed at least 160 people in central areas.

Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Additional Reporting by Eloisa Lopez and Enrico Dela Cruz; Editing by Lincoln Feast, Ed Davies and Martin Petty

-reuters-

Typhoon Maysak causes flooding in South Korea

A man wades through a flooded street after Typhoon Maysak hit the eastern port city of Gangneung, South Korea on Thursday. A powerful typhoon drenched the two Koreas on Sept. 3, killing at least one person in the South and inundating streets in a Northern port as it churned its way up the peninsula.

YONHAP, AFP

Japan on alert as 2 powerful typhoons approach

TOKYO - Japan's weather agency warned Wednesday of 2 powerful typhoons approaching, as 1 of them began to affect islands off Kyushu, while the other is expected to make landfall in a few days.

A freighter with 43 foreign crew aboard sent a distress call while traveling about 185 kilometers west of Amami-Oshima Island off southern Kyushu, prompting the Japan Coast Guard to send patrol boats to search for the vessel.

Typhoon Maysak came close to northern Kyushu on Wednesday afternoon, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, warning of heavy rain that could cause mudslides and flooding, as well as high waves and high tides.

More than 100 flights were canceled at airports on Kyushu and Okinawa Prefecture, according to a tally of reports by Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, and more cancellations are expected Thursday morning.

Bullet train services between Hiroshima and Hakata stations in western Japan will be suspended Thursday as a precaution, from the first departure of the day until around 8 a.m., said West Japan Railway Co.

Eight people in Okinawa have so far been slightly injured as the typhoon brought about strong gusts of wind. Thunderstorms hit southern Kyushu as well.

As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, Typhoon Maysak was traveling 100 kilometers west of Goto, Nagasaki Prefecture, with an atmospheric pressure of 950 hectopascals at its center and winds of up to 216 km per hour.

In the Pacific to the south, Typhoon Haishen was moving through sea areas with high surface temperatures near the Mariana Islands and is projected to become as powerful as to cause record rain, storms, high waves and high tides.

It is expected to approach southwestern and western Japan from Sunday to Monday with an atmospheric pressure of less than 930 hectopascals, the agency said.

Kyodo News

Christmas typhoon Ursula kills at least 21

MANILA - A typhoon that struck the central Philippines over Christmas has killed at least 21 people, disaster agency officials said Friday.

Typhoon Ursula (international name Phanfone) hit the Philippines late Tuesday with winds of up to 120 kph and gusts of 150 kph, bringing heavy rain and flooding.

More than 58,000 people were evacuated from their homes before the storm, which caused widespread property damage, and more than 15,000 were stranded at ports when ferries were suspended. Scores of flights were cancelled.

Most of the fatalities were reported in Eastern and Western Visayas, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). Two others were injured while 10 people remain missing.

The typhoon affected 185,168 persons and damaged 55 schools, according to NDRRMC.

It also cut power in 147 cities and town in Regions MIMAROPA, VI, VII, and VIII.

The typhoon left the Philippines on Wednesday night and was out over the South China Sea, moving west.

An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines each year, with storms becoming fiercer in recent years. - with a report from Reuters

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Clean-up, rescue efforts in Japan as typhoon toll nears 70

TOKYO - Rescuers in Japan worked into a third day on Tuesday in an increasingly desperate search for survivors of a powerful typhoon that killed nearly 70 people and caused widespread destruction.

Hagibis slammed into Japan on Saturday night, unleashing fierce winds and "unprecedented" rain that triggered landslides and caused dozens of rivers to burst their banks.

By Tuesday morning, national broadcaster NHK put the toll at nearly 70, with more than a dozen missing. The government's confirmed death toll was lower, but it said it was still updating its information.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said there was no plan to slow rescue operations, with around 110,000 police, coast guard, firefighters and military troops involved.

"Currently in damaged areas rescue work and searches for the missing are continuing around the clock," Abe told parliament.

"Where rivers flooded, work is ongoing to fix spots where banks broke, and water is being pumped out where floods occurred," he added.

The prime minister's office said more than 3,000 people have been rescued in the wake of the disaster, which affected 36 of the country's 47 prefectures.

RAIN PROMPTS NEW WARNINGS

Government officials warned that more rain was expected throughout the day Tuesday in several parts of the country affected by the typhoon.

"Because of the heavy rain so far, water levels at rivers have risen and ground has softened in some places," said chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga.

"We ask people not to drop their guard and to remain fully alert," he told reporters.

Hagibis crashed into land packing gusts up to 216 kilometers (134 miles) per hour, but it was the storm's heavy rain that caused the most damage.

At least 176 rivers burst their banks, including in central Nagano, where a levee breach sent water from the Chikuma river gushing into residential neighborhoods and submerging bullet trains in a depot up to their windows.

Deaths were reported across many prefectures and included a man whose apartment was flooded, a municipal worker whose car was caught in rising waters and at least seven crew aboard a cargo ship that sank in Tokyo bay on Saturday night.

By Tuesday morning, some 34,000 households were still without power, and 133,000 homes had no water.

Tens of thousands of people spent Monday night in government shelters, with many unsure when they would be able to return home.

GOVERNMENT PLEDGES AID

The government pledged to offer financial support to affected regions, without specifying how much aid it would set aside.

"Support for the victims of the disaster is an urgent task," Abe said.

"There are concerns that the impact on daily life and economic activities may be long-lasting."

Among the areas affected by the storm was the Fukushima region, where several bags containing soil and plants collected during nuclear decontamination efforts were washed away.

"Ten bags out of 2,667 were swept into a river during the typhoon, but six of them were recovered yesterday," environment ministry official Keisuke Takagi told AFP, adding that the remaining four bags had been found and would be collected soon.

"Residents must be worried about the environment, but there are no reports that the bags were broken, so there will be nothing to worry about once they have been recovered safely," he said.

Hagibis caused transport chaos over a holiday weekend in Japan, grounding flights and halting train services.

By Tuesday, things were largely back to normal, though some flights remained cancelled and train services were partially disrupted where tracks or train stock were damaged by the storm.

The typhoon also caused disruption to sporting events, delaying Japanese Grand Prix qualifiers and forcing Rugby World Cup organizers to cancel three matches.

A crunch fixture pitting the hosts against Scotland went ahead on Sunday night, with Japan winning its first ever quarter finals spot.

source: newa.abs-cbn.com

Typhoon Hagibis death toll in Japan rises to 55

The death toll from Typhoon Hagibis rose to 55 on Monday as search-and-rescue teams continued to operate in areas hit by flooding and landslides in central and eastern Japan.

Self-Defense Forces personnel, police and firefighters were carrying out operations, with 16 people missing and at least 100 injured, according to the latest Kyodo News tally.

At a disaster task force meeting, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government will do the utmost to support those affected by the typhoon and its aftereffects, adding an interagency team will be set up to improve shelters and help evacuees to find places to live.

About 38,000 people in 17 prefectures had evacuated from their homes by midday Monday, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, adding 3,700 homes had been flooded across the country.

"There is concern that the impact on lives and economic activities may persist," Abe said. "We will respond as best we can as we continue to think about those who are suffering."

He instructed Cabinet ministers to ensure infrastructure such as electricity and water supplies are quickly restored, with numerous areas suffering outages, and to supply food, water and other materials without awaiting requests from local authorities.

In a separate meeting, Defense Minister Taro Kono told senior officials to ensure the SDF make their best efforts in responding to the disaster.

The season's 19th typhoon dumped record rainfall that led to rivers bursting their banks, flooding residential districts and triggering landslides in 11 prefectures. Evacuees who could not return home continued to shelter in sites such as local schools.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said 37 rivers in Nagano, Fukushima, Ibaraki and three other prefectures had flooded.

In the central Japan city of Nagano, workers used more than 20 pumping vehicles to help assess damage to the drainage system caused when the Chikuma River's embankment collapsed.

In New York on Sunday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres extended his deep condolences to the families of victims, as well as the government and people of Japan, while wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

'Hagibis' causes massive flooding in Japan

Residents wade through floodwaters as members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force handle a flat-bottomed boat during relief operations in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis in Shibata district, Miyagi Prefecture on Sunday. Japan's military scrambled October 13 to rescue people trapped by flooding after powerful Typhoon Hagibis ripped across the country, killing at least 10 people and leaving more than a dozen missing. 

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Japan braces for powerful typhoon Hagibis

Japan braced on Friday for a powerful typhoon barreling towards Tokyo that has already forced the cancellation of two Rugby World Cup matches, disrupted the Suzuka Grand Prix and grounded flights.

Overnight, Typhoon Hagibis was downgraded slightly from its "super typhoon" status, but was still forecast to be packing maximum gusts of 216 kilometers per hour (134 miles per hour) when it makes landfall late Saturday.

Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned that areas from the west to the northeast of the country would experience "brutal winds and violent seas."

"We ask you to evacuate or take measures to ensure safety early, before winds and rain intensify, and before it gets dark, in order to protect your own life and the lives of your loved ones," JMA forecaster Yasushi Kajiwara said at a press briefing.

"The rain could be record-breaking," he added.

"The predicted conditions and severity of a possible disaster are tremendous."

The massive storm is expected to dump up to half a meter (nearly 20 inches) of rain on the Tokyo area in the 24 hours to midday on Sunday, with up to 80 centimeters forecast for the central Tokai area.

RUGBY CANCELLED, F1 DELAYED

The system has wreaked havoc even before making landfall.

On Friday morning, organizers said they would cancel Saturday's entire program at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, pushing qualifiers to the following day.

"The FIA (governing body) and Formula One support this decision in the interest of safety of the spectators, competitors and everyone at the Suzuka circuit," an FIA statement said.

The decision means the teams and drivers will have just Friday's two practice sessions in which to prepare for Sunday morning's qualifying session.

And the mega-storm has also forced Rugby World Cup organizers to cancel two Saturday fixtures: England-France in Yokohama outside Tokyo, and New Zealand-Italy in Toyota City.

The organizers said it had been a "very difficult decision", but Italy, who still had a mathematical chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals, were livid.

Captain Sergio Parisse fumed that the game would have been played if the All Blacks had needed the points, though New Zealand denied any preferential treatment.

The storm could also jeopardize a key match-up between Scotland and Japan on Sunday.

Scotland need to beat the hosts in Yokohama on Sunday to have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals. But if the match is cancelled they will be going home.

Officials are not expected to make a final decision on that match until Sunday morning, after they have assessed potential damage to the venue and transport links.

OFFICIALS ON ALERT

Japanese officials said they were on alert, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordering officials to "take every possible measure to ensure people's safety", Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

The storm is expected to cause transport chaos over a holiday weekend in Japan, with many forced to cancel travel plans.

Japan's two main airlines, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, cancelled hundreds of domestic flights.

And the operator of the main bullet train service linking Tokyo and western cities said it would suspend all services between the capital and Nagoya on Saturday.

A major overground train company in the capital also said it would gradually halt operations from early morning and other cancellations were expected.

Japan is hit by around 20 typhoons a year, though the capital is not usually badly affected.

Hagibis is bearing down on the region just weeks after another powerful storm, Typhoon Faxai, hit the area with similar strength, killing two and causing major damage in Chiba, east of the capital.

More than 36,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in Chiba, and the local government has urged those in damaged buildings to take shelter elsewhere during the storm.

Local officials equipped with satellite phones will be dispatched across the region to ensure communities can seek help during and after the storm.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

9 killed as typhoon lashes South Korea

BUSAN, South Korea - At least 9 people were killed and several others missing after Typhoon Mitag lashed South Korea with heavy rains and strong winds, authorities said Thursday.

The storm hit southern parts of the country on Wednesday night, prompting flood warnings and triggering landslides in affected areas.

The death toll recorded from across the country have been confirmed dead as of Thursday afternoon, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said, but the toll was expected to rise with several people missing.

A woman in her 60s was found dead after her home was buried in a landslide in the southern port city of Busan and around 600 rescue workers were trying to locate three others believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.

Park Young-hak was inside his tool shed -- later buried in the landslide -- and said he escaped after hearing a loud "roar."

"When I ran out to see what it was the house next to me had already disappeared," Park told AFP.

More than 1,000 homes were damaged and over 1,500 people evacuated their houses in advance, the ministry said.

Mitag is the 18th typhoon this year and seventh to hit the Korean peninsula.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Heatstroke kills two in Japan post-typhoon blackout

TOKYO, Japan - Heatstroke has killed two people in Japan, officials said Wednesday, as nearly half a million homes struggled with electricity outages after a powerful typhoon battered Tokyo and the surrounding area.

A 93-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man were found unconscious at their respective homes on Tuesday and were later confirmed dead by doctors, an official from Chiba prefecture east of Tokyo told AFP.

At least 48 other people were sent to hospital for symptoms of heatstroke Tuesday, she said, as the mercury hit above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in areas where electricity is still out after Typhoon Faxai hit on Monday.

By Wednesday morning, some 456,000 households were still without power, Tokyo Electric Co. (TEPCO) said in a statement.

"Please take refuge in cool places and drink water to avoid heatstroke," TEPCO said, apologizing to customers for the outage.

A local official said 84,000 households were also without water on Tuesday because several water purification plants had no power, but "water supply is recovering gradually" on Wednesday as electricity is restored.

With help from the military, officials dispatched water tanker trucks to the affected areas, she said.

Typhoon Faxai powered into the Tokyo region in the early hours of Monday warning, packing record winds that prompted warnings for tens of thousands of people to leave their homes.

The storm killed two people, though it caused relatively little damage in Tokyo beyond disrupting the morning commute.

In Chiba it brought down power lines, and it left 17,000 passengers stranded at Narita airport outside the capital after trains running to and from the transport hub were suspended.

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Typhoon stranded 17,000 at Tokyo airport: operator

TOKYO, Japan - Around 17,000 passengers were stranded overnight at Tokyo's Narita Airport, an official said Tuesday, after it took a direct hit from a powerful typhoon that caused transport chaos throughout the capital.

The typhoon caused more than 100 flights to be scrapped and road and rail links to the airport were also badly affected, leaving many with no transport options to the city -- 70 kilometers (45 miles) to the west.

Airport spokesman Kei Miyahara told AFP that a total of 16,900 were stuck at the airport at midnight.

"Passengers are now beginning to go home or to their final destinations as buses and trains have resumed operations," Miyahara said early Tuesday.

Narita Airport, located in Chiba to the east of Tokyo, was right in the line of fire of Typhoon Faxai, which brought winds of up to 207 kilometers (129 miles) per hour.

Suburban trains throughout the huge Tokyo metropolitan area were not reopened until 8 a.m. on Monday as officials checked for debris and damage. This sparked pandemonium during the notoriously busy morning commute.

The chaos came as Japan is preparing to host the Rugby World Cup later this month and with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just around the corner.

There was "minor" disruption to some teams' schedules, admitted a Rugby World Cup spokesman, with Australia's arrival delayed and the England team stuck for hours at the airport.

They passed the time in a particularly English way by playing cricket.

The airport said it delivered 2,000 bottles of water, 19,000 bags of crackers and 18,000 bed rolls to stranded passengers.

"We delivered information in English and Japanese on digital signs, and made announcements in four languages" including Chinese and Korean, said Miyahara.

However, there was mass frustration and passengers complained about a lack of information and long queues for taxis.

The airport operator will review their experiences and draw lessons later, Miyahara said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Typhoon Faxai hits Chiba, Japan

This picture shows the damaged roof of Higashi Chiba station caused by typhoon Faxai in Chiba on Monday. A powerful typhoon with potentially record winds and rain battered the Tokyo region on September 9, causing widespread blackouts and transport disruption and sparking evacuation warnings to tens of thousands.

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Strong typhoon winds lash Tokyo area, causing transport chaos

TOKYO - One of the strongest typhoons to hit the Japanese capital in recent years made landfall just east of Tokyo on Monday with record-breaking winds, stinging rain and sending some rivers close to the top of their banks before heading out to sea.

More than 130 flights were cancelled and scores of train lines were closed for hours, snarling the morning commute for millions in a greater Tokyo area that has a population of some 36 million. Authorities warned it was dangerous to venture outside.

Typhoon Faxai, a Laotian woman's name, slammed ashore in the city of Chiba, just east of Tokyo, a little before dawn, bringing with it wind gusts of 207 kph in Chiba, the strongest ever recorded there, national broadcaster NHK said.

There were no immediate reports of deaths and only one serious injury, a woman in her 20s who had to be rescued from her house after it was partly crushed when a metal pole from a golf driving range fell on it.

"There was a huge grinding noise, I couldn't figure out what it was. Then I looked out the window," a neighbor told NHK.

Some minor landslides occurred and a bridge was washed away, while as many as 930,000 houses lost power at one point, NHK said, including the entire city of Kamogawa.

"I've never seen a situation like this, the whole city without power," an official told NHK.

The storm had headed out to sea by midmorning but authorities warned that heavy rains were likely to continue for some hours, including in Fukushima, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

WIND SHAKES BUILDINGS

Around 4 to 5 typhoons make landfall in Japan every year, but it is unusual for them to do so near Tokyo. NHK said Faxai was the strongest storm in the Tokyo area in several years.

Winds were occasionally strong enough to shake street signs and buildings in the neighboring city of Ichikawa early on Monday morning, while biting rain fell. Streets normally busy with commuters walking or bicycling to the train station were deserted.

Metal signs were torn from the sides of buildings, trucks overturned, the metal roof of a gas station torn off and glass display cases destroyed, scattering sidewalks with broken glass. Twenty-four hour fast food restaurants in central Tokyo closed, protecting their windows with plywood.

Trees were uprooted throughout the metropolitan area, some falling on train tracks to further snarl transportation.

Some 2,000 people were ordered to evacuate because of the danger of landslides, NHK said, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.

Parts of the Tokaido Shinkansen line were briefly halted but service resumed after several hours. It took hours for other lines to resume, packing stations with impatient commuters fanning themselves in the humid air.

Temperatures were set to shoot up to unseasonably hot levels in the wake of the storm, with 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit) predicted in Tokyo, prompting authorities to warn of the danger of heatstroke.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Powerful typhoon Faxai pummels Tokyo region

TOKYO - Typhoon Faxai, upgraded to a "very strong" storm with potentially record winds and rain, battered the Tokyo region late Sunday, sparking evacuation warnings to tens of thousands and transport disruption.

Faxai, packing winds of up to 216 kilometers (134 miles) per hour, was bearing down on the Japanese capital and was expected to pass right over the megacity in the early hours of Monday. 

Authorities issued non-compulsory evacuation warnings to more than 110,000 people, as forecasters cautioned the rain and wind could reach "record" proportions.

"Please be on full alert against gusts and high waves and be vigilant about landslides, floods and swollen rivers," the agency said in a statement.

Faxai was likely to cause havoc with the Monday morning commute in Tokyo with train operators forced to suspend major lines until at least 8am.

"We need to inspect tracks and check if there is any damage as the typhoon is expected to pass through the region overnight," a train company spokesman told AFP.

The typhoon already caused some travel disruption on its approach with some 100 bullet trains connecting Tokyo with central and western Japanese cities scrapped on Sunday, along with ferries services in Tokyo bay.

Airlines have already canceled more than 100 flights scheduled on Monday while some coastal highways were closed west of the capital in Kanagawa due to the storm, according to local media.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or significant damage but eight surfers were rescued amid high waves off Shizuoka in central Japan after they were swept out to sea, local officials said.

"Two helicopters were dispatched while special rescuers rushed out to sea," a fire department spokesman told AFP.

"We sent two of them to hospital but no one was in danger of dying," he added.

Some department stores and amusement parks, including Tokyo Disneyland, closed earlier than scheduled due to the approaching storm.

Faxai was churning near Izuoshima island, south of Tokyo in the Pacific, at 10:00 pm on Sunday (1300 GMT), traveling north at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour and already producing high waves.

Japan is well used to severe tropical storms and typhoons during late summer and autumn.

Powerful typhoon Krosa lashed western Japan in mid-August, bringing strong winds and torrential rain that claimed one life.

And in late August, heavy rains left three people dead as massive floods also hit western Japan.

Typhoon Faxai comes just as teams begin arriving for the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off on September 20.

The French team managed to sneak in just ahead of the typhoon and reach their training camp near Mount Fuji.

However, the Australian Wallabies squad found their preparations disrupted as the typhoon delayed their scheduled arrival. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

How has climate change affected Hurricane Dorian?

The links between hurricanes and climate change are complex, but some aspects are getting clearer.

Tropical storms draw their energy from ocean heat — and more than 90 percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gas emissions is being stored in the ocean. Storms that survive the cradle of formation can intensify quickly and become immensely powerful.

While it is common to hear the question, “Was it caused by climate change?” scientists argue that this is an unhelpful way to look at the issue. As Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist at Texas Tech University, put it recently on Twitter, “that’s the wrong question. The right one is, ‘how much worse did climate change make it?’ ”

Like so many hurricanes, Dorian’s origins were unassuming. At 11 a.m. Aug. 24, the National Hurricane Center in Miami announced a new tropical depression east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles. At the time, it was just Tropical Depression Five.

Now, as that same storm slowly moves away from the Bahamas — which experienced a nightmare scenario of a Category 5 storm stalling over it for 24 hours — it begins its slow roll toward the East Coast of the United States.

A number of recent storms have stopped in one place for extended periods of time, including Harvey, which sat over Houston for days in 2017 and caused unprecedented flooding.

Recent research suggests that climate change has made stalled Atlantic storms more common since the mid-20th century and that they are more dangerous because they stay in one place for a longer period of time, potentially concentrating their destruction.

Jennifer Francis, a scientist with the Woods Hole Research Center, said, “This is yet another example of the kind of slow-moving tropical systems that we expect to see more often as a response to climate change. Upper-level steering winds are slowing over the continents during summer, so stalling weather systems are more likely.”

Hurricanes are steered in part by high-atmosphere winds not directly related to the storm. Dorian slowed to a crawl — about 1 mph — because the tropical winds that were pushing it westward over the Bahamas weakened, said Joel Cline, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Climate change is making hurricanes more destructive in many ways.

Andrew Dessler, a climate scientist at Texas A&M University, said that some of the links between hurricanes and climate change are still being worked out. But, he said, some attributes of storms, particularly the increasing amount of rainfall associated with many of them, has reached a very strong consensus.

A similarly solid consensus has developed about storms getting stronger. There is somewhat less consensus, he said, around the idea that storms are likelier to stall.

The problem with looking for answers in individual storms, he said, is that “because these are rare events, it’s really hard to get good statistics. Picking out trends is difficult.” And so the field draws conclusions from physics and models, and “physics rules the system.”

One of the other characteristics of Dorian: Its course has, at times, been difficult to forecast. Gabriel Vecchi, a professor of geosciences at Princeton University, said that forecasts of the storm’s path have actually been “in relative agreement” but that people find the remaining degree of uncertainty unsatisfying. “The problem is our standards have gotten so high because the forecasts have gotten so good,” he said.

Cline said that over the previous two days, Dorian’s track had more closely matched the forecasts. As it travels up the East Coast the storm’s behavior may become even more predictable, he said, as it encounters the typical west-to-east wind flow that defines most of the weather in the mid-Atlantic region. That should drive Dorian increasingly to the northeast, he said.

Vecchi warned against trying to attribute too many elements of an individual storm to climate change right away, however, because attribution science has so far been most successful in terms of rainfall. He cautioned against saying that every intense storm was made more powerful because of global warming because “there have been intense storms in the past.”

Instead, he put it this way: Dorian “looks like what we’re going to have more of in the future.”


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Typhoon Lekima kills 44 in eastern China

BEIJING - The death toll from typhoon Lekima in eastern China rose to 44 people on Monday morning, according to official data, as the storm continued up the coast, racking up billions of dollars in economic losses and widely disrupting travel.

An additional 12 people were recorded dead from the storm, including seven from Zhejiang province and five from Shandong, with 16 people missing, according to data from provincial emergency bureaus and state media.

State broadcaster CCTV had put the death toll at 32 on Sunday.

Typhoon Lekima made landfall early on Saturday in China's Zhejiang province, with winds gusting up to 187 kmh (116 mph). The center of the storm has since traveled north through Shandong and off the coast.

Many of the earlier deaths occurred when a natural dam collapsed in Zhejiang after a deluge of 160 mm (6.2 inches) of rain within three hours.

The Shandong Emergency Management Bureau said more than 180,000 people were evacuated in the province, adding to an earlier evacuation of roughly 1 million people in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces as well as the financial hub of Shanghai.

The latest update from Shandong brings the total estimated economic toll of the storm to 18 billion yuan ($2.55 billion) in China, including damage to 364,000 hectares of crops and more than 36,000 homes. Shandong alone estimated the total economic impact on agriculture was 939 million yuan.

Qingdao, a popular tourist hub in eastern Shandong, issued a red alert on Sunday, closing all its tourists sites and suspending 127 trains and all long-distance bus services, according to official media.

Lekima is China's ninth typhoon this year. China's state broadcaster said on Sunday more than 3,200 flights had been cancelled but that some suspensions on high-speed railway lines had been lifted.

The typhoon was expected to weaken as it heads northwest off the coast of Shandong into the ocean east of China's capital, Beijing.

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Typhoon in eastern China causes landslide, killing 13 people

BEIJING - Thirteen people were killed and 16 were missing in eastern China on Saturday in a landslide triggered by a major typhoon, which also caused hundreds of flight cancellations and the evacuation of more than 1 million people, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

Typhoon Lekima made landfall early on Saturday in the eastern province of Zhejiang with maximum winds of 187 kms per hour, although it had weakened from its earlier designation as a "super" typhoon, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

China's weather bureau on Saturday issued an orange alert, its second highest, after putting out a red alert on Friday, when the storm forced flight cancellations in Taiwan and shut markets and businesses on the island.

The deadly landslide occurred about 130 kms north of the coastal city of Wenzhou, when a natural dam collapsed, CCTV reported.

The storm was moving northward at 15 kph and was gradually weakening, Xinhua reported, citing the weather bureau.

High winds and heavy rains battered the financial hub of Shanghai on Saturday afternoon.

Some 625 flights at airports in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu were due to be cancelled, CCTV reported, citing the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

Several dozen trains connecting Zhejiang with northern and central China had also been cancelled.

More than 250,000 residents in Shanghai and 800,000 in Zhejiang province had been evacuated due to the typhoon, and 2.72 million households in Zhejiang had power blackouts as strong winds and rains downed electricity transmission lines, state media reported.

Some 200 houses in 6 cities in Zhejiang had collapsed, and 66,300 hectares of farmland had been destroyed, CCTV said.

The typhoon also forced the closure of Shanghai Disneyland.

The storm was predicted to reach Jiangsu province by the early hours of Sunday and veer over the Yellow Sea before continuing north and making landfall again in Shandong province, CCTV said.

Coastal businesses in Zhejiang were shut and the Ministry of Emergency Management warned of potential risk of fire, explosions and toxic gas leaks at chemical parks and oil refineries.

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World condoles with Philippines after Ompong devastation

MANILA -  The international community and global organizations have sent their sympathies to the Philippines following the devastation of Typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut) over the weekend.

Ompong, the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, left at least 74 people dead and dozens other trapped after a landslide buried an emergency shelter in Itogon, Benguet.

AUSTRALIA

Australia said it was giving A$800,000 (P31 million) in humanitarian assistance for victims of Ompong. 

The aid will be distributed through the Philippine Red Cross and includes sleeping mats, blankets, and hygiene and shelter kits for up to 25,000 people in typhoon-ravaged areas.

CANADA

Canada on Tuesday extended its condolences to the Philippines, saying it is "ready to assist as appropriate to help areas affected."

“Our thoughts are with the many people affected by super typhoon Mangkhut (local name Ompong), which is causing significant devastation in the Philippines and is now hitting Hong Kong, Macau and mainland southern China," Global Affairs Canada said.

"Canada offers its sincerest condolences to the families and loved ones of those who have lost their lives, and we hope for a swift recovery for those injured," it added.

CHINA

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday told President Rodrigo Duterte that Beijing was mourning the fatalities due to Ompong's devastation.

In his message to the Philippine leader released by the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, Xi said China shared the sadness of the Philippine people over their sufferings and is willing to help as much as possible.

Xi also expressed sympathy for those injured, bereaved families and residents in affected areas.

Ompong also ripped through southern China after roaring through northern Luzon. 

JAPAN

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a message of condolences to Duterte following Ompong's onslaught, Japan's foreign ministry said.

"On behalf of the Japanese government and people, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families, and express my sympathy to those who were affected," Abe told Duterte in a message last Saturday, Sept. 15. 

The Japanese leader added that Tokyo was ready to provide the "maximum possible assistance including provision of emergency relief goods to the Philippines."

"Like the Philippines, we fully understand the hardship caused by severe damages of typhoons. Japan always stands with the Philippines in overcoming this time of difficulties," Abe said.

Japan was devastated earlier this month by the strongest typhoon to hit the mainland in a quarter century. 

 EUROPEAN UNION


The European Commission is sending an emergency aid package
worth €2 million (P125.06 million).

“Our contribution will help provide crucial support to those most in need and help them face the challenges during this time of need," said Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides in a statement.

The EU said the aid will be used for shelter, emergency relief items distribution, water and sanitation, food security and humanitarian protection for victims of the typhoon.

UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom said it was coordinating with the Philippine government in assessing the damage left by Ompong and offered its assistance.

"We offer our assistance to the Philippine Government in response to Typhoon Ompong, and are actively assessing needs in cooperation with DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and OCD (Office of Civil Defense), and international partners," its embassy in Manila said in a tweet.

UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt added that London was "ready to support the Philippines in its relief effort."

 UNITED NATIONS

The United Nations World Food Program said Sunday it would transport 20,000 bags of rice to be distributed as rations to victims of the typhoon.

"The rice is transported from the National Food Authority in Valenzuela to the DSWD National Resource Operations Center," it said in a statement.

The agency added that it would also help in assessing the food security situation in areas badly-hit by the typhoon, namely the Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region.

UNITED STATES

US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim said Washington was in close contact with Manila and remains ready to assist victims of the deadly typhoon.

"My thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones in the flooding and landslides from Ompong. We are in close contact with the Government of the Philippines, and remain ready to assist," Kim said in a tweet Sunday.

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Powerful typhoon kills 9, shutters airport in Japan

TOKYO, Japan - The toll in the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in a quarter century rose Wednesday to nine, with thousands stranded at a major airport because of storm damage.

Typhoon Jebi slammed into the west coast of Japan around noon on Tuesday, bringing maximum winds of 216 kilometers (135 miles) an hour and heavy rain.

The powerful gusts ripped sheeting from rooftops, overturned trucks on bridges and swept a 2,591-ton tanker anchored in Osaka Bay into a bridge leading to Kansai International Airport.

The damage to the bridge left the airport, which is on an artificial island, cut off from the mainland, and around 3,000 people were stranded at the facility overnight, a transport ministry official told AFP.

Parts of the airport's runways and basement were also flooded after high waves whipped up by the storm washed into the facility.

On Wednesday morning, a boat service was ferrying people from the airport to nearby Kobe, the transport ministry official said.

But there was no indication yet when the airport, which runs over 400 flights a day, might reopen. 

"We had a blackout so there was no air conditioning. It was hot," a woman transported Wednesday by boat to Kobe Airport told public broadcaster NHK.

"I'd never expected this extent of damage from a typhoon."

NHK said the toll in the storm stood at nine, with Jiji news agency saying five of the dead were in Osaka prefecture.

Hundreds more were injured, mostly by flying debris, local media said.

Evacuation advisories were issued for more than 1.22 million people as of Wednesday morning, while another 29,600 people under stronger, though still not mandatory, evacuation orders, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

And 16,000 people spent the night in shelters across 20 prefectures, Jiji reported.

- Winds bring down roof –

The fast moving typhoon left land on Tuesday night, moving offshore from the central Ishikawa region, but it left a trail of destruction in its wake.

In Kyoto, it brought down part of the ceiling of the tourist magnet's main station, and in Osaka, the high winds peeled scaffolding from a multi-story building.

Footage on NHK showed a 100-metre (328-foot) tall ferris wheel in Osaka spinning furiously in the strong wind despite being switched off.

"I've never seen such a thing," a 19-year-old man at the scene told NHK.

Up to some 2.3 million households suffered blackouts and businesses, factories and schools in the affected area shut down while the storm crossed the country.

Nearly 800 flights were cancelled, including several international flights departing and arriving at Nagoya and Osaka, along with ferries, local train services and some bullet train lines.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had urged people to evacuate early and ordered his government to take all necessary measures to protect residents.

"I urge the Japanese people to take action to protect your lives, including preparing and evacuating early," he said.

Japan is regularly struck by major storms during the summer and autumn.

The country has been sweating through a record deadly heatwave that followed devastating rain in parts of central and western Japan that killed over 200 people.

The sustained rain caused widespread flooding and landslides in July, devastating entire villages and forcing thousands from their homes.

The flooding and landslides proved so deadly in part because many people did not heed evacuation warnings, which are not mandatory.

Since the disaster, authorities have urged people to take the warnings more seriously and prepare to leave home immediately they are issued.

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