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Sixth typhoon in a month makes landfall in Philippines
A potentially catastrophic super typhoon has made landfall in the Philippines – the sixth typhoon to hit the country in a month.
Man-Yi, known locally as Pepito, touched down at 21:40 local time (13:40 GMT) with maximum sustained wind speeds of 195 km/h (121mph) along the coast of the eastern Catanduanes island, the state forecaster said.
It has warned of a “life-threatening storm surge”, heavy rains and severe winds, and hundreds of thousands of people had been evacuated ahead of the storm’s arrival.
At least 160 people are known to have died in the five previous earlier storms.
Super Typhoon Man-Yi is expected to impact a large area, BBC Weather reports. There will be widespread heavy rain in northern areas, with more than 300mm (11 inches) expected to fall on Saturday and Sunday – leading to potential flooding and increasing the risk of mudslides.
Winds of up to 270km/h are also expected, as are waves of up to 15m (49ft) in eastern coastal areas.
The capital, Manila, may be spared the worst of the winds as the storm tracks to its north, before crossing the island of Luzon – the largest and most populous island in the Philippines – and heading offshore by Monday.
Dozens of flights have been cancelled due to the incoming storm, according to local broadcaster ABS-CBN News.
More than 400,000 people heeded evacuation orders ahead of the storm, civil defence said. Its head, Ariel Nepomuceno, has urged everyone living in the storm’s projected path to comply these orders.
“It is more dangerous now for those in landslide-prone areas because the ground has been saturated by the consecutive typhoons,” Mr Nepomuceno said.
Glenda Llamas is among those who have had to leave their homes.
“We are terrified of the typhoon, as it may intensify and the waters can rise,” she told the AFP news agency from a shelter in the eastern Albay province.
“If we didn’t evacuate we wouldn’t be able to get out later, we don’t have anyone else in the house but us.”
“We already have a lot of phobia due to the previous calamities that happened here like floods, strong winds and other disasters,” said Melchor Bilay, who was evacuated to a school further south, in Sorsogon province.
While typhoons are not uncommon in the Philippines, forecasters say it is unusual to see so many tropical storms in the Pacific at the same time during the month of November.
Tropical Storm Trami dumped one month’s worth of rain over large swathes of the northern Philippines in late October, leaving dozens of people dead.
This was followed by Typhoon Kong-rey, in which at least three people were killed. It was also the biggest typhoon to directly hit Taiwan in nearly 30 years.
Typhoon Yinxing affected the north of the island of Luzon earlier this month, where it brought nearly 250mm (10in) of rain in some areas.
There has since been Typhoon Toraji and, earlier this week, Typhoon Usagi, which brought a three-metre storm surge and torrential rainfall exceeding 200mm (8 inches).
The United Nations’ climate change body, the IPCC, has said that while the number of tropical cyclones that happen globally is unlikely to increase due to a warning planet, it is “very likely” they will have higher rates of rainfall and reach higher top wind speeds.
This means a higher proportion would reach the most intense categories.
[BBC]
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is to swear in his new Cabinet of Ministers at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow (18) at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.
(PMD)
The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) ship SAMIDARE arrived at the port of Colombo on a formal visit this morning (17th November 2024).
The visiting ship was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in compliance with naval traditions.
The 151m long ship serves in JMSDF and she is manned by 199 crew members. She is commanded by Commander Naoki KOGA.
During the ship’s stay in Colombo, the crew members are
expected to visit some of the tourist attractions in the country.
Concluding her official visit,
JMSDF SAMIDARE will depart the island on 19th November.
Upon her departure, the ship will engage in a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with a Sri Lanka Navy ship in Colombo seas.
A gold pocket watch given to the British boat captain who rescued more than 700 passengers from the Titanic has sold at auction for a record-breaking £1.56m ($1.97m).
The 18-carat Tiffany & Co timepiece was given to Sir Arthur Rostron, then captain of passenger ship RMS Carpathia, by survivors he rescued.
Auctioneer Henry Aldridge and Son in Wiltshire said it was the highest amount ever paid for Titanic memorabilia, and that it was bought by a private collector in the US.
The sale demonstrates the “enduring fascination” with ill-fated the ocean liner, it added.
Sir Arthur changed course of the Carpathia, which was on its way from New York for Europe, after the ship’s wireless operator picked up the distress call “we’ve struck ice, come at once”.
It set off at full speed and reached the Titanic two hours after it had sunk in the North Atlantic on 15 April 1912.
The watch was given to Sir Arthur by the widow of the richest man on the Titanic, John Jacob Astor, and two other widows of wealthy businessmen lost when the vessel struck an iceberg and broke apart – taking the lives of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.
It carries the inscription “presented to Captain Rostron with the heartfelt gratitude and appreciation of three survivors of the Titanic April 15th 1912 Mrs John B Thayer, Mrs John Jacob Astor and Mrs George D Widener”.
Sir Arthur received the gift from Mr Astor’s wife at a lunch at the family’s mansion on Fifth Avenue in New York City, according to the auction house.
“It was presented principally in gratitude for Rostron’s bravery in saving those lives, because without Mr Rostron, those 700 people wouldn’t have made it,” auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said.
The previous Titanic memorabilia record was set in April when a gold pocket watch, recovered from the body of Mr Astor, sold for £1.175million at the same Devizes-based house.
Prior to that, the violin that was played as the ship sank held the record for the highest amount paid for a Titanic artefact for 11 years after being sold for £1.1m in 2013.
Mr Aldridge said the fact the record had been broken twice this year demonstrated the “ever-decreasing supply and an ever-increasing demand” for memorabilia related to the ship.
[BBC]
New Cabinet to be sworn-in tomorrow (18)
JMSDF SAMIDARE arrives at the port of Colombo
Watch given to Titanic hero sells for £1.5m
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