MANILA,
Philippines (AP) — The strongest typhoon this year slammed into the central
Philippines on Friday, setting off landslides and knocking out power and
communication lines in several provinces. At least four people died.
Huge,
fast-paced Typhoon Haiyan raced across a string of islands from east to west —
Samar, Leyte, Cebu and Panay— and lashed beach communities with over 200
kilometer (125 mile) per hour winds. Nearly 720,000 people were forced to
evacuate their homes.
Due
to cut-off communications, it was impossible to know the full extent of
casualties and damage. At least two people were electrocuted in storm-related
accidents, one person was killed by a fallen tree and another was struck by
lightning, official reports said.
Southern
Leyte Gov. Roger Mercado said the super typhoon triggered landslides that
blocked roads, uprooted trees and ripped roofs off houses around his residence.
The
dense clouds and heavy rains made the day seem almost as dark as night, he
said.
"When
you're faced with such a scenario, you can only pray, and pray and pray,"
Mercado told The Associated Press by telephone, adding that mayors in the
province had not called in to report any major damage.
"I
hope that means they were spared and not the other way around," he said.
"My worst fear is there will be massive loss of lives and property."
Weather
officials said Haiyan had sustained winds of 235 kph (147 mph) with gusts of
275 kph (170 mph) when it made landfall. That makes it the strongest typhoon
this year, said Aldczar Aurelio of the government's weather bureau.
Eduardo
del Rosario, head of the disaster response agency, said a typhoon of similar
strength that hit the Philippines in 1990 killed 508 people and left 246
missing, but this time authorities had taken pre-emptive evacuation and other
measures to minimize casualties.
The
Philippines, which is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms a year, has in recent
years become more serious about preparations to reduce deaths. Public service
announcements are more frequent as are warnings issued by the president and
high-ranking officials, regularly carried on radio and TV and social networking
sites.
Provincial
governors and mayors have taken a hands-on approach during crises, supervising
evacuations, inspecting shelters and efforts to stockpile food and relief
supplies.
By 5
p.m. Friday, the typhoon — one of the strongest storms ever — was centered to
the west of Aklan province on Panay Island, 320 kilometers (200 miles) south of
Manila, after blasting the island resort of Boracay.
Forecasters
said it was expected to move out over water south of Mindoro island Friday
evening and into the South China Sea on Saturday, heading toward Vietnam.
Among
the evacuees were thousands of residents of Bohol who had been camped in tents
and other makeshift shelters after a magnitude-7.2 earthquake hit the island
province last month.
Jeff
Masters, a former hurricane meteorologist who is meteorology director at the
private company Weather Underground, said the storm was poised to be the
strongest tropical cyclone ever recorded at landfall. He warned of
"catastrophic damage."
But
he said the Philippines might get a small break because the storm is so fast
moving that flooding from heavy rains — usually the cause of most deaths from
typhoons in the Philippines — may not be as bad.
The
U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said shortly before the typhoon made
landfall that its maximum sustained winds were 314 kph (195 mph), with gusts up
to 379 kph (235 mph). Those measurements are different than local weather data
because the U.S. Navy center measures the average wind speed for 1 minute while
local forecasters measure the average for 10 minutes.
Hurricane
Camille, a powerful 1969 storm, had wind speeds that reached 305 kph (190 mph)
at landfall in the United States, Masters said.
President
Benigno Aquino III assured the public of war-like preparations, with three
C-130 air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on standby,
along with 20 navy ships.
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