Super Typhoon Parma May Churn Manila to Vanila : Update #1
On Thursday, October 1, 2009 at about 08:00 UTC, Parma became a super typhoon. It’s expected to gain more strength before landfall.
Will it or won’t it?
It’s academic whether Parma will directly strike Manila. More rain for a city already buried in chest-high floodwater is just as deadly.
Could Manila Collapse?
Could Manila collapse as a result of devastation caused by the combined impact of the storms Ketsana, Parma (and Melor, next week), as well as possible earthquakes triggered by landslides and massive mud avalanches, AND a highly probable catastrophic eruption of TAAL VOLCANO?
One way to find out is to wait and see! Another, is to stay tuned to FEWW forecasts and comments posted on this blog.
See also: The First Wave of Collapsing Cities
Super Typhoon Parma (see inset for date and time) – MTSAT/NPMOC/JTWC – Click on image to enlarge and view latest update.
Typhoon Parma – October 1, 2009
As the death toll from Tropical Storm Ketsana continued to climb, residents of the Philippines braced for Typhoon Parma, which continued its westward path across the Pacific Ocean on October 1, 2009. The same day, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image. Coastlines of the Philippines appear in black, and storm clouds hide the satellite’s view of most of the land areas. Clouds actually fill most of this image, with the eye of the storm appearing in the right half of the picture and long arms extending westward over land. NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. [Original caption edited by FEWW]
Typhoon Parma – September 30, 2009
Tropical Storm [Now Super Typhoon] Parma headed westward over the Pacific Ocean, en route to the northern Philippines on September 30, 2009. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image the same day. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team. Caption by Michon Scott. [Edited by FEWW]
Latest Details (as of posting)
- Position: near 12.7N 129.1 E.
- Location: Approximately 520 NM East-Southeast of Manila, Philippines AST-
- Moving WNW at a forward speed of about 16 knots
- Intensity: Super Typhoon; expected to further intensify before landfall probably on NE coast of Luzon
Super typhoon Parma is already affecting the country
A Main Street in suburban Cainta, east of Manila, flooded chest-deep. Sunday, September 27, 2009. Mike Alquinto / AP Photo. Image may be subject to copyright.
What will the people do?
- Forced evacuations in northern provinces may occur, ahead of the Parma’s landfall.
- Parma would bring more torrential rains causing a second wave of chaos across Manila and nearby provinces by impeding what little relief efforts some 2.5 million people are receiving after their lives were turned upside-down by TS Katsana.
- More people are bound to perish from the impact of Parma.
- So far 277 people have been confirmed killed in the wake of Ketsana, with 42 still missing. The numbers would rise further.
- Up to 700,000 people who lost their homes to landslides and mud avalanches in Manila and nearby provinces are currently staying in makeshift evacuation centers. The psychological and physical impacts of living in cramped condition for prolonged periods of time would be devastating, especially among children.
Satellite animation of Typhoons Parma and Melor in the Pacific Ocean
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