Typhoon Nesat makes landfall in the Philippines, killing at least 9

[News_Editor]

Typhoon Nesat makes landfall in the Philippines, killing at least 9

2011-09-27 22:50:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

MANILA (BNO NEWS) -- Powerful Typhoon Nesat made landfall in eastern and northern regions of the Philippines on Tuesday, causing widespread flooding and killing at least nine people. The death toll is expected to rise.

As of 4 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the center of Nesat was located about 70 kilometers (43 miles) northwest of Baguio, a major city in northern Luzon. Its maximum sustained winds had weakened to 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour with gusts up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour.

Nesat, which is known locally as Pedring, caused heavy rains throughout the region as it moved through Luzon and several other regions in the east. In metropolitan Manila, which was already suffering from heavy monsoon rains ahead of the typhoon, the rains caused serious flooding.

According to the Philippine government, as of 6.20 p.m. local time, at least nine fatalities had been reported as a result of the typhoon. Four of them were reported in the city of Valenzuela, north of Manila, while two other fatalities were reported in the province of Maguindanao.

The death toll is expected to rise further as a number of people were said to have died in metropolitan Manila, but no number was immediately available. At least four people are also still missing in several regions.

More than 110,000 people throughout the affected regions have been evacuated, many of whom fled before the storm arrived when evacuation orders were issued. In the city of Echague alone, which is located in the province of Isabela, at least 475 houses were reported to have been destroyed on Tuesday evening while 775 others were partially destroyed.

Typhoon Nesat emerged as an area of low pressure east-southeast of Palau on September 21 before strengthening into a typhoon as it drifted towards the Philippines. It is the 17th named storm, the 11th severe tropical storm and the 8th typhoon of the 2011 Pacific typhoon season. The season runs throughout 2011, with most tropical cyclones forming between May and November.

In July, the City University of Hong Kong predicted a total number of 31 tropical cyclones to form in the western North Pacific, of which 27 would become tropical storms and 17 which would further grow into a typhoon.

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