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Thousands in Philippines flee Typhoon Kalmaegi
MANILA, Nov 19, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – At least 5,000 people have fled their
homes with Typhoon Kalmaegi poised to blast into the northern Philippines
late Tuesday, with a second tropical storm forecast to hit just days later.
Kalmaegi is expected to batter the nation’s lightly populated far north
with 120 kilometre (75 mile) per hour winds, the national weather service
said.
Heavy rains are forecast to swell rivers, cut off roads and threaten low-
lying communities in Cagayan province, where officials guided residents
towards shelter.
“We’re expecting falling trees and houses that could be inundated by
floods,” provincial police chief Ariel Quilang told AFP.
Forecasters believe a second tropical storm could make landfall in the
same province by Thursday.
The disaster-prone nation is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons
each year, killing hundreds and condemning many areas in their path to
perpetual poverty.
The weather bureau raised landslide warnings across the mountainous
interior of the country’s north, also warning of floods and waves up to two
metres (6.5 feet) high in coastal areas.
At least a dozen domestic flights have been cancelled and schools shut
down due to Kalmaegi, while small sea vessels were ordered to stay ashore
with gale conditions forecast at sea.
The Philippines’ deadliest cyclone on record was Super Typhoon Haiyan,
which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1723 hrs