Tens of thousands of Filipinos run for shelter as Typhoon Rammasun nears

[DefJam]

Tens of thousands of Filipinos run for shelter as Typhoon Rammasun nears

Tens of thousands move to evacuation centres after warnings of storm surges and floods in central Philippines in wake of Rammasun

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 15 July, 2014, 6:02pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 15 July, 2014, 10:44pm

Agence France-Presse in Manila

Meteorologists monitor the movement of Typhoon Rammasun in Manila. Photo: AFP

Tens of thousands of people in the Philippines sheltered in evacuation centres yesterday as a typhoon began to pound its eastern coast, with authorities warning of giant storm surges and heavy floods.

The eye of Typhoon Rammasun was set to strike the city of Legazpi in the eastern Bicol region of the main island of Luzon last night, with Manila and other heavily populated areas also expected to be hit early today, the state weather service said.

Watch: Philippines braces for Typhoon Rammasun

"We are preparing for the worst," said Rafaelito Alejandro, civil defence chief of Bicol, a poor farming and fishing region of 5.4 million people.

More than 96,000 families had moved to evacuation centres there, Social Welfare Minister Corazon Soliman said.

"People on the coastal areas are evacuating because of the threat of storm surges," National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council spokeswoman Romina Marasigan said, referring to giant waves dumped onto the shore by strong winds.

The Philippines is hit by about 20 major storms a year, many of them deadly. The archipelago is often the first major land mass to be hit after the storms build above the warm Pacific Ocean waters.

A resident stands near waves in Legazpi City, southeast of Manila. Photo: AFP

Super Typhoon Haiyan unleashed seven-metre storm surges that devastated the coasts of the eastern islands of Samar and Leyte last year, killing up to 7,300 people in one of the nation's worst natural disasters.

More than 1,000 residents of Tacloban, a city in Leyte, fled to an indoor government stadium early yesterday after the weather service warned of the threat of three-metre waves hitting the coast.

"We're terrified of storm surges," mother of three Mary Ann Avelino, 26, said as her family sat on the concrete bleacher seats of an evacuation centre, watching puddles form on the floor from the leaky roof.

Her family had temporarily abandoned a lean-to at the ruins of their coastal home to sit out the new typhoon on higher ground.

State weather forecaster Alczar Aurelio said Rammasun was forecast to hit Legazpi, a city of about 185,000 people, last night.

It was then forecast to sweep around 350km to the northwest and hit Manila and its 12 million people this morning, he added.

Heavy rain and strong winds pounded the Bicol coasts in the late afternoon, though there were no reports of casualties or damage, Joey Salceda, governor of Albay province in Bicol, told ABS-CBN television news.

Rammasun is the first storm to make landfall since this year's rainy season began in June, and authorities were seeking to ensure all potentially impacted communities were well informed and prepared.

The state weather service upgraded Rammasun yesterday from a tropical storm into a typhoon as its wind speeds built over the Pacific.

Typhoon Rammasun gains momentum on its approach to the Philippines. Photo: AFP

Rammasun, which is Thai for "God of Thunder", is expected to have gusts of up to 180 km/h when it makes landfall, according to the US military's Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.

The government cancelled most classes in Manila and Bicol yesterday, while dozens of domestic flights were grounded.

The coastguard also shut down domestic shipping across Bicol and nearby areas, leaving more than 6,000 ferry passengers stranded.