Skip to main content

Super Typhoon Noul howls over northeastern tip of Philippines

(FRANKS..)

 Super Typhoon Noul clipped the northeastern Philippines on Sunday, prompting thousands of people to seek shelter in evacuation centers.
The storm, referred to as Dodong in the Philippines, hit land Sunday afternoon at the northeastern tip of the island of Luzon, near the small town of Santa Ana, according to PAGASA, the Philippine government agency that monitors the weather.
Noul's outer bands had lashed Luzon's eastern coast through the afternoon as it drew nearer, packing maximum sustained winds of about 260 kph (160 mph) and gusts as strong as 315 kph (195 mph).
Authorities said they relocated about 3,800 residents of vulnerable areas to evacuation centers ahead of the typhoon's arrival.
No casualties caused by the storm were reported early Monday and the damage wasn't "as significant" as authorities had feared, said Alex Pama, an official at the national disaster management agency.
On Monday, the storm weakened as it started to change direction. Noul's maximum sustained winds were around 195 kph (120 mph), no longer super-typhoon strength.
It's forecast to curve toward the northeast in the direction of Japan's Okinawa Islands, losing strength as it advances.

Storm warnings across a wide area

Ahead of Noul's arrival Sunday, PAGASA had issued its highest storm warning for the northeastern part of Cagayan province and islands off its coast, as well as lower level warnings for the wider region. It said the super typhoon could bring flash floods and landslides.
In Santa Ana, a town of about 30,000 people, fishermen brought in their boats earlier in the day, and businesses boarded up their windows, storm chaser James Reynolds told CNN.
"People here are taking it very seriously," he said.
Over roughly two days, Noul could dump as much as half a meter (20 inches) of rain on some areas, almost the same amount that London gets in a year, said meteorologist Pedram Javaheri.
The affected region is far more sparsely populated than urban areas farther south.
The rough seas caused by the storm prompted many ships to take shelter in ports, leaving more than 5,000 people stranded across the nation, according to the national disaster management agency.

Farmers wanted rain

While Noul has been menacing the northeastern Philippines, Mount Bulusan has been spewing ash in southern Luzon.
Philippines braces for super Typhoon Noul

Philippines braces for super Typhoon Noul 02:36
PLAY VIDEO
Farmers in Luzon were hoping the storm would weaken while still providing much needed rains after a dry spell in the region, according to the charity World Vision.
Situated in a vulnerable part of the Pacific, the Philippines experiences an average of 20 typhoons a year, five of them destructive, according to the Asian Disaster Reduction Center.

Popular posts from this blog

Chibok abductions: Will Nigerian schoolgirls ever be freed?

(FRANKS..) Continue reading the main story Nigeria abductions Politics and parents Malala's appeal Hostage negotiations Military failings Six months since militant Islamist group Boko Haram sparked global outrage by abducting more than 200 girls from Chibok town in north-eastern Nigeria, the government has still failed to secure their release. The BBC's Will Ross spoke to the parents of some of the girls about their ordeal. In the remote farming community of Chibok, the agony is only getting worse. The parents and other relatives of the missing 219 school girls complain that they have been left to rely on a diet of rumour from the media and a long list of unfulfilled promises from the politicians. "The government must do more to get the girls back. Some parents are already dying. About six women have g...
Read more

Obama in Jamaica pays tribute to Bob Marley

(FRANKS..) Barack Obama has taken a tour of the Bob Marley museum in Jamaica after becoming the first US president to visit the country since 1982. To the strains of the late reggae star's One Love, Mr Obama was shown around the sprawling house in Kingston that was Mr Marley's final home. The US president said he was a fan of the musician, telling his museum guide: "I still have all the albums." Mr Obama is in Jamaica to meet the 15-member Caribbean Community bloc. But his first stop after landing in Kingston was the old Victorian-style house in central Kingston that Mr Marley called home between 1975 and his death in 1981. Mr Obama spent 20 minutes in the museum, which now houses artefacts from the singer's life including gold records and his Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. His arrival aboard Air Force One on Wednesday made him the first sitting US president to set foot in the country since Ronald Reagan visited 33 years ago. He was gree...
Read more

Who is to blame for the rise of ISIL?

(FRANKS..)   n this Head to Head  special from Washington DC, Mehdi Hasan challenges retired Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn, on the rise of ISIL, the War on Terror, torture, and how to deal with Iran. Flynn was the former head of the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and a commander of J-SOC, the ghost military unit whose squads hunted Al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan all the way to Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan. With no panel or audience, we ask him whether the US is to blame for creating ISIL and whether the War on Terror has become a crusade. We also discuss torture in US bases and why he is opposed to a deal with Iran.    Follow us on:   Facebook and @AJHeadtoHead  Is the US to blame for ISIL? with Michael T. Flynn will be broadcast on Friday July 31 at 2000 GMT,  and will be repeated on Saturday August 1 at 1200 GMT, Saturday August 2 at 0100 GMT and Monday August 3 at 0600 GMT. Head to Head   is Al Jazeer...
Read more