Philippine Government Declares State of Calamity

Province of Nueva Ecija placed under a state of calamity, as KOPPU  churns across the country

Philippine authorities have placed the entire province of Nueva Ecija, north of Manila, under a state of calamity, and warned of continued risk of flooding, after Tropical Storm KOPPU left many cities and municipalities flooded.

• About 5,000 homes were damaged or destroyes, said NDRRMC in its Situation Report No. 10.
• At least 18 people were killed, 1 person missing, with 16 others injured.
• A state of calamity has also been declared in Ilagan City the capital of Isabela province due to the devastation caused by the typhoon.

A state of calamity is defined as “a condition involving mass casualty and/or major damages to property, disruption of means of livelihoods, roads, and normal way of life of people in the affected areas as a result of the occurrence of natural or human-induced hazard,” according to the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management.

KOPPU, locally know as LANDO, the second strongest storm to hit the Philippines so far this year, has also forced more than 60,000 people from their homes, authorities said.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said a total of 121,841 families (560,570 people) have been affected across the country, with 635 flooding incidents recorded in the affected regions.

Seven other people were killed after a passenger boat capsized in southern  Philippines “more than 500 kilometers from the direct path of the typhoon,” said reports.

“In the deadliest single incident related to the typhoon, seven passengers aboard a small outrigger (banca) were killed when it capsized in rough seas off Guimaras island in Western Visayas on Sunday,” Manila Times reported.

Hurricane ODILE Slams Baja, Forces Mass Evacuations

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC HAZARDS
SIGNIFICANT HURRICANES
MAJOR STORMS
MASS EVACUATIONS
SCENARIOS 888, 444, 111,  071, 070, 066, 055, 033, 023, 09
.

Strong Hurricane ODILE slams Mexico’s Baja California peninsula

ODILE pummeled the popular resorts of Baja California peninsula early Monday, forcing tens of thousands of tourists and locals to move to  emergency shelters.

ODILE made landfall as a category 2 hurricane, but would likely cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides over the next few days, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Emergency officials evacuated more than 30,000 people, most of whom were tourists.

Other Hurricanes/ Typhoons

Hainan (China) issues highest alert ahead of Typhoon KALMAEGI

KALMAEGI is forecast to make landfall between Guangdong Province and Hainan Island about noon Tuesday, said China’s National Meteorological Center.

The typhoon may have damaged or destroyed about a fifth of rice output and a third of corn production in the northeastern province of Isabela, according to reports

The typhoon was located about 645km southeast of Leizhou City, Guangdong Province at 4:00 p.m. local time on Monday, said a report.

EDOUARD may become first major 2014 Atlantic hurricane

EDOUARD, currently a Cat. 2 hurricane, is set to become the first major hurricane of the 2014 Atlantic season in the next few hours, said the National Hurricane Center.

State of calamity declared in Isabela, Philippines

Super Typhoon MEGI Strikes Northern Luzon, Philippines

Super Typhoon MEGI – VIS/IR Satellite Image . Source: CIMSS. Click image to enlarge.

Super typhoon MEGI (the 13th typhoon of the year in the region,) the 10th and strongest typhoon to strike the Philippines this year, hit Isabela province this morning and led to the state’s governor declaring a state of disaster.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from two northern states of Isabela and Cagayan.

MEGI uprooted trees, destroyed houses, cut off power and communication lines, and forced dozens of flight cancellations across Luzon island, and may have cause substantial damage to the region’s rice crop.

“In six hours from 8 a.m. (0000 GMT), the city of Tuguegarao in Cagayan had 54 mm (2.2 inch) of rain, while Baguio City on the western side of Luzon had 28 mm, the weather bureau said,” Reuters reported.

The typhoon has already claimed at least one life, local media reported. Up to 100,000 metric tons of rice may have been lost.

MEGI should enter the South China Sea Tuesday, according to China’s meteorological authorities, a report said, where “torrential rains have already forced the evacuation of almost 140,000 people in the southern island province of Hainan.”

Related Links:

• Super Typhoon MEGI