Supertyphoon threatens PH

By: Dona Z. Pazzibugan - 10 years ago

noah.dost.gov.ph/

A powerful typhoon that destroyed homes in Micronesia is moving straight to the Philippines and is expected to make landfall in Luzon on Easter Sunday, typhoon tracks plotted by several countries in the Asia-Pacific showed.

The National Weather Service on the island of Chuuk, part of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), said on Tuesday afternoon that Typhoon 鈥淢aysak鈥欌€� was expected to hit the Philippines on Sunday or Monday.

鈥淚ts official track shows it鈥檚 headed straight toward Luzon,鈥� meteorologist Derek Williams said.

Malaca帽ang assured the public that 鈥渁ll hands are on deck,鈥� including President Benigno Aquino III, as the typhoon threatens to hit the country.

鈥淎s far as the government is concerned, as far as the President is concerned, all hands are on deck, (as) with any expected or unforeseen situations, incidents that may arise during Holy Week,鈥� presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a Palace briefing.

Lacierda said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) are both expected to provide 鈥渢imely warnings鈥� on the incoming typhoon.

鈥淎t the same time, the NDRRMC is, as you know, is composed of several Cabinet agencies, so all of them have already been informed of the incoming storm and insofar as the roles of each Cabinet agency, they know what to do,鈥� Lacierda said.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas urged local officials in the Visayas and southern Luzon to prepare for the expected entry of Maysak.

鈥淥ur mayors are the first responders. They should man the command centers in their respective localities,鈥� said Roxas, vice chair of the NDRRMC.

鈥淓ven if the typhoon is still far off, our leaders should be ready for its possible onslaught,鈥� he said.

Moving west northwest

The typhoon, which will be called 鈥淐hedeng鈥� in the Philippines, is forecast to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) on Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, Maysak packed maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 210 kph while about 1,700 km east of Northern Mindanao. The typhoon is expected to move west northwest at 20 kph.

A cyclone is considered a supertyphoon when its sustained winds reach at least 220 kph, according to Pagasa.

No supertyphoon

While Maysak continued to intensify as it neared PAR, the weather bureau said the cyclone would not hit the Philippines as a supertyphoon.

The typhoon will weaken as it nears the Luzon landmass, according to Pagasa.

鈥淚t may further intensify but while it nears land, it will weaken,鈥� Pagasa meteorologist Shelly Ignacio said. 鈥淲e will not be hit by a supertyphoon.鈥�

Pagasa said the vertical wind shear over Luzon would weaken the incoming cyclone.

Effects by Good Friday

Ignacio said that while the typhoon would enter PAR either late Wednesday or early Thursday, its effects would not be felt until Friday.

The Bicol Region will experience rains, but not stormy weather, by Friday before the cyclone affects northern and Central Luzon for the rest of the weekend, according to Ignacio.

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Direct hit

Widespread damage was reported in Chuuk, which suffered a direct hit on Monday.

鈥淐huuk was devastated,鈥� Kembo Mida, a lawyer in Chuuk, said in an e-mail to the Ayuda Foundation relief organization, which is based in Guam about 1,000 kilometers away.

鈥淗ouses were blown away and trees snapped in half. It was very dangerous and scary鈥� a ship sank too.鈥�

The Pacific 黑料社 Center in Guam said FSM public information officer Marz Akapito 鈥渋s reporting that five people have died in Chuuk state due to typhoon Maysak.鈥�

Category 5

Maysak was expected to have intensified to a maximum Category 5 storm by the time it hit Yap early Wednesday.

Neville Koop, a meteorologist with Fiji鈥檚 Na Draki weather service, said at its peak the typhoon would have winds of 270 kph with gusts up to 340 kph.

鈥淭his typhoon will be very destructive,鈥� Koop told AFP. 鈥淎t its peak Typhoon Maysak will be as strong as Cyclone Pam.鈥�

Pam slammed into Vanuatu over two weeks ago, causing widespread damage and leaving 11 people dead in the South Pacific nation. With reports from Julie M. Aurelio, Nikko Dizon, AFP and AP

Originally posted:听 6:32 PM | Tuesday, March 31st, 2015

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