Strong typhoon leaves 42 dead, 20 missing in Philippines
Thick mud and debris coated many villages around the Philippine capital on Friday after a typhoon killed at least 42 people and caused extensive flooding that sent people fleeing to their roofs, officials said.
Troops, police, coast guard and disaster-response teams rescued tens of thousands of people, including many who flooded radio and TV networks and social media with desperate pleas for help.
Floodwaters receded and the weather cleared in many areas after Typhoon Vamco blew out into the South China Sea on Friday, but the military said it was still rescuing people trapped in some flooded communities.
Amphibious assault vehicles usually used in counter-insurgency operations were deployed for the rescue work, military chief of staff Gen. Gilbert Gapay said in a meeting with disaster-response officials.
“We’ll continue to look for the missing, help in damage assessment,” Gapay said.
The national police reported that the death toll had risen to at least 42 with 20 missing. The government’s main disaster-response agency, which waits for provincial reports and follows a laborious process of verifying casualties, reported a much lower death count, causing confusion.
Among the dead were at least 12 villagers who were dug out from mud and rockslides in the northern provinces of Cagayan and Nueva Vizcaya, police said.
After slamming into northeastern Quezon province, Vamco gained strength with sustained winds of 155 kilometers (96 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 255 kph (158 mph). It blew north of metropolitan Manila overnight Wednesday, toppling trees and power poles, swelling rivers, flooding residential communities and setting off landslides and storm surges.
In hard-hit Marikina city in the capital region and the towns of Rodriguez and Cainta in nearby Rizal province, several villages were inundated by water that reached the second and third floors of many houses, prompting hundreds of residents to flee to their roofs and call TV and radio networks or post desperate messages on social media. The panic was exacerbated by widespread power outages and loss of internet access.
Videos of Marikina showed a thick coat of muddy water covering roads and staining houses and cars. Residents carried appliances and furniture from their homes and used pails and shovels to remove the mud after the water receded.
In a televised meeting of Cabinet and disaster-response officials Friday, a reporter asked where President Rodrigo Duterte was, prompting an annoyed response from his spokesman.
“The president’s whereabouts should not be asked. That’s foolishness coming from the opposition. The president is not missing, he is always with us,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said, without offering any further details.
More than 400,000 people were evacuated to higher ground before the typhoon hit, mainly residents of vulnerable coastal and low-lying areas.
At least 3.8 million households lost power in the capital and outlying provinces, but crews later restored electricity in many areas. Government offices were closed and most classes were suspended Friday.
Vamco hit the Philippines on the heels of Typhoon Goni, one of the strongest typhoons in the world this year, which left more than 30 people dead or missing and damaged or destroyed 270,000 houses. Tens of thousands of people were still displaced when Vamco hit.
The Philippines is hit by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year and also has active seismic faults and volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
Courtesy of startribune.com
Continuous Lava Flows at Heard Volcano in Southern Indian Ocean, Australia
Two lava flows from Heard volcano visible from space (image: Sentinel 2)
Effusive activity of the volcano continues.
A satellite image from 11 November shows that two lava flows on the south-southwestern and northwestern flank remain active, currently about 500 m long.
Courtesy of volcanodiscovery.com
Volcanic Ash Advisory. Explosive Activity at Sabancaya Volcano in Peru
Photo Illustration
Explosive activity continues. Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) Buenos Aires warned about a volcanic ash plume that rose up to estimated 24000 ft (7300 m) altitude or flight level 240 and is moving at 15 kts in E direction.
Courtesy of volcanodiscovery.com
Volcanic Alert Level Raised to Level 2 at White Island Volcano in New Zealand
Aerial view of White Island volcano with an ash and gas plume (image: @nzherald/twitter)
GeoNet reported that an observations during the gas flight confirmed the presence of fine ash material in the plume. The fine particles originate from the main steam vent at the back of the crater lake. Initial analyses of the ash particles suggest that it is loose material from around the vent or underlying conduit being carried by the steam and gas emission.
Some of the particles may be carried a few kilometres downwind but are unlikely to reach the mainland. The gas and steam plume may be noticed on the mainland as weak acid rain. While the gas output observed yesterday is higher than recent observations, other monitoring parameters do not show significant changes.
Observations from the flight show there is no substantial change in the location and size of active vents. The rainfall has formed a pool of water on the floor of the 1978/90 Crater, re-forming a shallow lakelet.
During the past week, a small sequence of earthquakes has been located close to the volcano and an increase of volcanic tremor has been recorded.
The main plausible triggers for a sudden eruption with little or no warning remain the collapse of unstable material in an active vent and the possible ingress of water underground onto the shallow magma body.
Courtesy of volcanodiscovery.com
MAGNITUDE 4.6 ST. MARTIN REGION, LEEWARD ISLANDS
Depth: 104 km
Distances: 34 km SW of Marigot, Saint Martin / pop: 5,700 / local time: 16:35:12.2 2020-11-13
34 km SW of Cul de Sac, Sint Maarten / pop: 8,400 / local time: 16:35:12.2 2020-11-13
MAGNITUDE 4.0 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII, USA
21 km ESE of Waimea, United States / pop: 9,200 / local time: 09:36:11.0 2020-11-13
MAGNITUDE 5.3 OFF COAST OF SINALOA, MEXICO
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 266 km S of Culiacán, Mexico / pop: 675,000 / local time: 12:04:15.5 2020-11-13
163 km SW of Mazatlán, Mexico / pop: 381,000 / local time: 12:04:15.5 2020-11-13
MAGNITUDE 4.7 SOUTHERN IDAHO, YELLOWSTONE, USA
Depth: 15 km
Distances:
116 km NNE of Boise, United States / pop: 145,000 / local time: 03:54:33.3 2020-11-1379 km WSW of Challis, United States / pop: 1,000 / local time: 03:54:33.3 2020-11-13
MAGNITUDE 5.7 MACQUARIE ISLAND REGION
Depth: 10 km
Distances: 1102 km SW of Dunedin, New Zealand / pop: 114,000 / local time: 22:12:46.1 2020-11-13
935 km SSW of Bluff, New Zealand / pop: 1,900 / local time: 22:12:46.1 2020-11-13
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