Saturday, December 19, 2015

State of calamity declared in Philippines after storms

Heavy rains continue to pummel the Philippines, threatening to aggravate flooding that has prompted the government to declare a state of "national calamity".

The death toll after a week of devastating weather has risen to 35, according to confirmed reports from national and local disaster monitoring agencies.

Tropical depression "Onyok" weakened on Saturday into a low pressure area, but continued to bring rains to the central Visayas islands and Mindanao, the main southern island, according to government weather authorities.

Cold monsoon winds blowing from the northeast brought rains to Luzon, the main northern island, where large farming communities have been submerged in mostly waist-deep floods from Typhoon Melor, which hit at the start of the week.

Meanwhile, the state weather bureau forecasted cloudy skies with moderate to occasional heavy rains and thunderstorms over Mindanao, Bicol region, Central and Eastern Visayas, and the provinces of Aurora and Quezon.

These may trigger flash floods and landslides, according to the Philippines state news agency (PNA).

President Benigno Aquino declared a state of "national calamity" to speed up relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas hit by Typhoon Melor and to control the prices of basic commodities, the Philippines Star reported.

"All departments and other concerned government agencies are hereby directed to coordinate with, and provide or augment the basic services and facilities of affected local government units," Aquino was quoted as saying.

Aquino also directed law enforcement agencies, with the support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to ensure peace and order in affected areas, the Philippines Star added.

In 2013, a typhoon known as Haiyan wiped out entire communities in the central islands, killing more than 6,000 people, and displacing millions; entire towns were flattened on the central islands of Leyte and Samar.

The Philippines, which sees an average of 20 typhoons a year, is planning to build typhoon-resilient structures and to relocate residents living in danger zones to areas considered safer based on studies by local and international organisations.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

19/12/15
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1 comment:

  1. Philippines: le bilan de deux tempêtes s'aggrave à 45 morts ...

    Le bilan de deux tempêtes qui ont déferlé cette semaine sur les Philippines s'est aggravé à 45 morts dimanche alors que plusieurs localités étaient toujours sous l'eau, ont annoncé les services de la protection civile.

    Des trombes d'eau s'abattent depuis lundi sur l'archipel, frappé tour à tour par le typhon Melor puis par la dépression tropicale Onyok. Des zones situées près de cours d'eau au nord de Manille étaient sous trois mètres d'eau tandis que des pluies abondantes continuent de tomber sur la région.

    Les régions de basse altitude situées au nord de Manille font office de bassin de captage pour la pluie qui tombe sur les autres zones de l'île principale de Luzon. "Les eaux mettent beaucoup de temps à refluer car il s'agit de la zone la plus basse", a souligné Glenn Diwa, responsable de l'agence régionale de gestion des catastrophes naturelles.

    Plus de 54.000 personnes ont trouvé refuge dans des abris d'urgence mis en place par le gouvernement, sans grand espoir de pouvoir rentrer chez elles pour Noël.

    Melor a traversé le centre de l'archipel d'est en ouest après avoir touché terre lundi, provoquant de graves inondations. Puis vendredi, la dépression tropicale Onyok a touché l'île méridionale de Mindanao, également accompagnée de pluies intensives.

    Les Philippines subissent régulièrement des tempêtes meurtrières, avec en moyenne chaque année une vingtaine de typhons.
    rtbf.be
    20/12/15

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