Typhoon Koppu Batters Philippines

Save the Children is warning that up to 4.5 million children have been affected by Typhoon Koppu in the Philippines.

“That’s how long the typhoon is going to take to pass and during that time it’s going to be extremely hard to come in with any kind of transport”, she said.

Three days of torrential rain has been predicted, triggering major flooding and possibly landslides.

Alexander Pama, executive director of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council described fallen power lines and toppled trees blocking roads, but said “there are still no reports of casualty, thank God”. The military & different agencies try to clear the routes to Casiguran, which has about 25,000 inhabitants, & the opposite towns, Dinalungan & Dilasag, it reported.

The storm has now begun to weaken but officials fear more flooding. It had sustained winds of 130km per hour and gusts of up to 160 kph (100 mph).

A woman seeks shelter behind a tree as strong winds and slight rain brought by Typhoon Koppu hit Manila, Philippines Sunday, October 18, 2015. Rain is expected to fall for at least the next 24 hours, heightening the chances for more damage.

“The big story out of this storm is definitely going to be the rainfall totals”, said CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. But government forecasters said that there was less heavy rain than expected initially in a few areas, including in Manila, but that fierce winds lashed many regions.

A man was electrocuted in northern Tarlac province and two bodies were seen being swept by floodwaters in Nueva Ecija, but authorities were trying to determine whether those were typhoon-related deaths. A few commuter bus services were suspended due to threats of landslides in mountain areas.

“Estimated rainfall amount is from heavy to intense within the 600 km diameter of the typhoon”, said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Officials reported dozens of flight cancellations, thousands of people stranded in ports and many municipalities without power.

Residents of communities in the typhoon’s expected path were hunkering down under darkening skies, said Kate Marshall, part of an advance reconnaissance team of the worldwide Committee of the Red Cross to the region.

“Koppu tore off roofs of homes made of light materials”.

“It’s considered to be the most vulnerable large nation on earth for tropical cyclones”, he said.

In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most ferocious storms on record to hit land, barrelled through the central Philippines, levelling entire towns and leaving more than 7,300 dead or missing.