Days after one storm left hundreds dead and most of Manila under water, the Philippines was bracing itself Thursday for the impact of a super typhoon gathering pace in the western Pacific.
Typhoon Parma is expected to bring heavy rainfall and major property damage to the Philippines on Saturday, according to meteorologists. The storm was upgraded to a super typhoon Thursday as it churned towards the island nation with winds of 240 kph (150 mph). The storm was about 600 miles (965 km) southeast of Manila, the Philippines’ capital on Thursday afternoon. The five-day tracking map shows the storm south of Taiwan on Monday. Parma comes on the heels of Typhoon Ketsana, which left at least 246 people dead as it passed over the Philippines over the weekend. An additional 38 were still missing, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said.
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The storm affected nearly 2 million people and forced the evacuation of 567,000. At one point, 80 percent of the capital, Manila, was under water after experiencing the heaviest rainfall in 40 years. The storm, downgraded Wednesday to a tropical depression, also killed at least 74 people in Vietnam and nine in Cambodia. A major clean-up operation continued Thursday as Filipinos set to work repairing the damage caused by Ketsana. In the city of Pasig — part of metropolitan Manila — enterprising residents used inflatable mattresses as makeshift boats to ferry people through flooded streets.
The government, which some people said did not act quickly enough, opened up part of the presidential palace for aid distribution. Several nations have offered humanitarian assistance to the Philippines. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the organization was considering an emergency appeal for aid as several U.N. agencies also pledged support. The World Food Program said it will provide rations to 180,000 people.
