Philippines
typhoon forces 41,000 people to evacuate their homes
Residents
of vulnerable areas take shelter from typhoon Bopha, the 16th major
storm system to hit the country this year
4
December, 2012
The
Philippines' strongest typhoon so far this year has forced more than
41,000 people from their homes as it pounds southern provinces –
cutting power, suspending travel and flooding areas that are prone to
landslides.
More
than 41,000 people evacuated high-risk coastal villages and along
rivers, including in areas that were devastated by a deadly storm a
year ago.
President
Benigno Aquino III made a national TV appeal for people in typhoon
Bopha's path to move to safety and take storm warnings seriously.
Aquino
said army troops had deployed search and rescue boats in advance.
Authorities ordered small boats and ferries not to venture out along
the country's eastern coastline, warning of rough seas and torrential
rain and wind that could whip up four-metre waves.
Government
forecaster Jori Loiz said Bopha, the strongest typhoon to hit the
country this year, had weakened since it made landfall in Davao
Oriental province early on Tuesday but winds remained at 99mph
(160km/h) with gusts of up to 121mph.
The
civil defence chief, Benito Ramos, said officials were checking for
casualties or damage from a landslide on a mountainside village in
Compostela Valley province. They were also working to verify
unconfirmed casualty reports from Southern Leyte and Davao Oriental
provinces. Power was cut off in several municipalities in southern
Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Davao Oriental provinces after
parts of Agusan del Sur province flooded.
Bopha's
rain front, 373 miles wide, is expected to be out of Philippine
territory by Friday.
Bopha,
its name taken from the Cambodian word for flower or a girl, is the
16th big storm system to hit the Philippines this year. The country
usually has about 20 typhoons and major storms a year.
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