WPAC - Xangsane - ~200 deaths in the Philippines

[HURAKAN]

Xangsane storm death toll rises to 76 in Philippines, 69 missing

MANILA, Philippines The death toll from a typhoon that ravaged the Philippine capital and northern farming regions has risen to 76, with 69 others missing in floods and landslides, officials said Sunday.

Most of the additional deaths were caused by drowning, landslides or falling debris as Typhoon Xangsane roared across Manila and nearby provinces on Luzon island Thursday. The fatalities were only reported over the weekend due to downed communication lines, officials said.

Xangsane has since hit Vietnam and been downgraded to a tropical storm.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appealed for public patience as authorities struggled to fully restore power, communications and water supplies, and to clear roads of debris and fallen trees three days after the typhoon.

"The tragedy has been disheartening but our nation needs to be strong to cope with and to overcome these trying times," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement.

Arroyo on Saturday presided over a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, and ordered authorities to intensify a massive cleanup in the capital and beyond. As complaints mounted, she ordered power restored in the capital within 48 hours.

About 72 percent of power in Luzon, hit by a total blackout Thursday, had been restored Sunday. However, efforts to fully restore electricity were being stymied by downed power poles and giant steel pylons, officials said.

"We're trying to abide by the president's order but there was just too much structural damage," said Jocelyn Abrera, an information officer of the state-run National Transmission Corp.

About 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines yearly, but many people seemed overwhelmed by the extent of damage caused by Xangsane, which blew out of the country Friday.

Many Manila residents crammed hotels and malls to escape the heat and inconvenience in their powerless homes. Some gasoline stations closed due to delays in supply deliveries and panic buying, officials said.

They said Internet and cable TV were still out in some areas, and users have complained of sluggish cell phone services.

The typhoon, the worst to hit the bustling capital in over a decade, left many villages still littered with fallen trees and debris after bright sunshine returned Sunday.

About 2,000 soldiers were helping clear fallen trees, billboards and power poles in Manila, the military said.

In a desperate bid to hasten the cleanup, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando announced a cash prize for residents who help clear fallen trees and turn them into artworks.

The storm affected more than 1 million people in 17 central and northern provinces and in metropolitan Manila, and nearly 105,000 remained in 198 emergency government shelters, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/ ... yphoon.php

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At least three dead as Xangsane batters central Vietnam

Hanoi - At least three people were dead and more than 70 injured as typhoon Xangsane lashed Vietnam's central coast Sunday morning, sinking boats, flattening houses and knocking out electrical power, officials and state media said.

In the coastal city of Danang, a 6-year-old girl was killed in the central coastal centre of Danang when her house collapsed on her and another person was killed, according to state Vietnam Television.

A telephone company employee in central Quang Nam province was killed in the line of duty, the news report said, but did not give details.

Flooding destroyed 500 meters of levees in the ancient town of Hoi An, submerging streets and damaging historic buildings in the centuries-old World Heritage site, VTV said.

Three fishing boats off Danang were reportedly sunk, though it was unknown how many sailors were aboard, an official said Sunday morning by telephone. Officials had been worried Saturday that some 500 boats had yet to make it to shore.

In May, typhoon Chanchu swept away boats carrying more than 200 Vietnamese fishermen, prompting calls for better forecasting and preparation for storms.

Vietnam had cancelled domestic flights and evacuated more than 180,000 people had been evacuated from coastal and flood-prone areas ahead of the powerful typhoon, which earlier killed at least 94 people in the Philippines on Friday.

Shortly after it hit Vietnam, Xangsane weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm, with winds recorded at 117 kilometres per hour, according to Bui Minh Tang, director of the National Hydrometeorology Centre.

Heavy rains were still falling throughout central Vietnam at noon on Sunday and military units were standing by in case of floods and landslides for the second time in a week.

A less-powerful tropical storm hit central Vietnam last Monday, killing five people in flash floods

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/asia ... al_Vietnam

[P.K.]

Thanks, went as low as 983hPa then on the SYNOPs.

[P.K.]

It has been downgraded to a 55kt STS now. The first pictures from Hoi An have now been posted here.

RSMC TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVISORY
NAME STS 0615 XANGSANE (0615) DOWNGRADED FROM TY
ANALYSIS
PSTN 011200UTC 15.4N 106.4E FAIR
MOVE W 09KT
PRES 980HPA
MXWD 055KT
50KT 30NM
30KT 120NM
FORECAST
24HF 021200UTC 15.5N 104.0E 80NM 70% TROPICAL DEPRESSION

[HurricaneBill]

Latest tolls I've heard:

Philippines 120
Vietnam 10

[HURAKAN]

Typhoon Xangsane kills about 200 in Philippines

MANILA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in the Philippines from Typhoon Xangsane, locally known as Milenyo, rose to 197 while at least 22 other people remained missing, local media reports said Wednesday.

The industrial belt south of Metro Manila was worst hit by the storm, with at least 154 killed in five provinces of Southern Luzon.

The typhoon, the strongest to hit Metro Manila in a decade, has also displaced 1.33 million people and blacked out Luzon for days leaving millions of people in the dark. The storm has also destroyed 146,000 houses and tens of thousands of hectares of farmland while sending 171,000 people to evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, another storm, Bebinca, locally known as Neneng, changed course and was heading toward Japan by Wednesday morning, said Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). But Bebinca has been bringing rains to eastern Luzon, Western Visayas and Mindanao since Monday.

In Metro Manila power has been 99 percent restored, the Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO) said Tuesday.

But some parts of the capital region were still without electricity Wednesday morning, including the city's biggest thoroughfare of EDSA in Quezon City.

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza has assured residents that the city government was doing all it could to bring things back to normal.

Commodity prices rose slightly in the aftermath of the typhoon in markets, but no public panic was seen. But while prices for meat and chicken remained stable, those of vegetables are expected to increase within the week owing to hard-hit agricultural areas in the country, said government officials. Enditem

[P.K.]

Vietnam's death toll from Typhoon Xangsane rises to 59, four still missing

HANOI, Vietnam Floods triggered by heavy rains submerged tens of thousands of Vietnamese homes Wednesday in the aftermath of Typhoon Xangsane, which killed at least 169 people in Vietnam and the Philippines, officials said.

Vietnam's toll from the storm, which slammed into the country's central coast on Sunday, rose to 59 killed and four missing. The Philippines, which bore the brunt of the storm last week, reported 110 dead and 79 missing, as officials in both countries continued to tally the casualties and assess the damage.

........

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/10/04/asia/AS_GEN_Asia_Typhoon.php

[HurricaneBill]

Also, 1 fatality in China (on Hainan Island).