E.Samar hit by #Hagupit first, winds start to batter coastal areas as residents flee

December 6, 2014

by benign0

Dolores, Eastern Samar has been identified as the unlucky town where Super Typhoon Hagupit will first touch the Philippines. According to current forecasts, Hagupit will be packing winds of 180-200 kph near the centre with gusts of up to 220 kph.

Veteran of 2013 Haiyan disaster reporter Andrew Stevens of CNN International on site in Tacloban
(Source: @9newsPh on Twitter)

As of 11 a.m. Philippine time, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) had placed the provinces of Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Masbate (including Ticao Island), Northern & Eastern Samar, Samar, and Biliran under Storm Signal No. 3 and issued the following advisory:

Residents in low-lying and mountainous areas are alerted against flash floods and landslides. Likewise, those living along the coast are warned on the occurrence of big waves associated with storm surge which may reach up to 4.5 meters.

The Guardian reports that more than half a million people have been evacuated to safety…

About 10 million residents of the Bicol and eastern Visayas regions were deemed at risk from flooding, storm surges and strong winds. AccuWeather global weather centre said more than 30 million people would feel the impact of the typhoon across the country.

Oceans begin to surge in Guiaun coastal areas which are largely empty thanks to early evacuation efforts.
(Source: @IOMasiapacific on Twitter)

In Tacloban, the epicentre of Super Typhoon Haiyan’s devastation in 2013, UNICEF Philippines in a late afternoon tweet reports that evacuees have taken refuge in the Astrodome in anticipation of the coming storm landfall.

Power lines topple in Tacloban City as Hagupit approaches
(Source: @DZMMTeleRadyo on Twitter)

The Philippines’ capital in Metro Manila is also expected to be within Hagupit’s path of destruction as it tears through the country. Manila could be hit between late Monday, the 8th December or early the following day based on its current velocity and projected trajectory.

People in the capital must also prepare for the storm, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said at a briefing today. Hagupit, which according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center is a super typhoon, will probably affect about two thirds of the nation’s provinces, he said yesterday.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines remain at full alert as the national government mulls declaring a state of national emergency under threats of skyrocketing prices of basic necessities including food in the storm’s wake. Measures are also being taken by key government agencies to ensure sufficient supplies of food and critical goods are kept flowing into the affected areas to curb panic buying.