Super Typhoon in the Philippines

[Nick]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/world/asia/philippines-typhoon-haiyan/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Weren't we just talking about the earthquake there, this can't possibly be a good follow-on ....

With sustained winds of 305 kph (190 mph) and gusts as strong as 370 kph (230 mph), Super Typhoon Haiyan was churning across the Western Pacific toward the central Philippines as one of the most intense tropical cyclones ever recorded.
Its wind strength makes it equivalent to an exceptionally strong Category 5 hurricane.

 

[St. Bear]

Its wind strength makes it equivalent to an exceptionally strong Category 5 hurricane.

Equivalent? I thought a typhoon was just a hurricane in the Pacific?

 

[Nick]

I think what they are saying is this is like a high powered 5, almost off the chart.

 

[drjeff]

Equivalent? I thought a typhoon was just a hurricane in the Pacific?

Yup, Hurricane = Typhoon = Cyclone depending on where in the world it is.

This sucker is SCARY strong. Sustained winds of 190mph with gusts to 230mph and it's heading for an area of the Phillipines that was hit with a magnitude 7.1 earthquake about a month ago

 

[Cornhead]

This must have been one of the quietest Hurricane seasons in years for the US. Seems there was more action off the West coast of Mexico than in the Atlantic, no? I pay more attention than I used to after being flooded twice within the last seven years. The last flood was caused by Tropical Storm Lee. It was pinned inland by high pressure off the coast. Dodged a bullet with Sandy, it went to the South of us.

If 200mph winds hit residential areas, you would think it would wipe the Earth bare. The storm surge must be massive too. Prayers to those in its path. Where's Snowmonster?

 

[ALLSKIING]

This must have been one of the quietest Hurricane seasons in years for the US. Seems there was more action off the West coast of Mexico than in the Atlantic, no? I pay more attention than I used to after being flooded twice within the last seven years. The last flood was caused by Tropical Storm Lee. It was pinned inland by high pressure off the coast. Dodged a bullet with Sandy, it went to the South of us.

If 200mph winds hit residential areas, you would think it would wipe the Earth bare. The storm surge must be massive too. Prayers to those in its path. Where's Snowmonster?

Winds of 212 mph hit southern Miami in 92 with hurricane Andrew. ...everything was flat


sent from my S4

 

[snowmonster]

Where's Snowmonster?

Thanks for concern, Cornhead. I'm in Manila and we don't expect to take a direct hit because the storm will pass way to the south of the city. The storm made landfall this morning in the islands of Samar and Leyte, which are southeast of Manila facing the Pacific. They're showing footage from there and now I can see what a storm with 250 kmh winds looks like. Footage I saw was insane. There were these sheets blowing around in the wind. Thought they were paper sheets but they turned out to be steel roofing material. Man, this makes the winds on Mt. Washington look like a breeze. It's evening now and the storm is starting to affect Manila. We're getting a lot of rain now. The suburb south of where I live is starting to report really strong wind gusts. There's usually a 15 minute weather gap between that suburb and here so I expect to be hammered shortly. We're bracing for that. We know we'll be fine in the end. We're used to typhoons and floods growing up but never with this intensity. Since I came back, we've had two huge typhoons and an earthquake. You have to be tough to live here but I also think the gods are trying to tell me something. On the other hand, thirty foot waves predicted on the coasts and some of my idiot friends are out there. Surf's up!

 

[bvibert]

Stay safe snowmonster! Check back in at the other end of the storm to let us know you're okay.

 

[snowmonster]

Thanks, bvibert. I think the Manila area will turn up fine. We're just bracing here for the rains on the back end of the storm. If it dumps then we're in for some floods. The provinces and islands in the Visayas region in central Philippines, well, that's another story. The communications lines are down. No celphone service at all. There were some high government officials that were sent there to help out during the storm and they've not been heard from today. Judging from the footage that was shown on TV here at the beginning of the storm, we're expecting to hear the worst. Unreal. Fingers crossed. Good thing though is that we had advance warning so a lot of people were evacuated but that doesn't mean we'll have no casualties.

 

[wa-loaf]

You have to be tough to live here

Our contractors in Manilla are at work today ...

 

[Cornhead]

Glad to hear you're out of harm's way Snowmonster. Mother Nature is humbling, hope she blesses us with a snowy Winter.

 

[snowmonster]

Yeah. Not surprised, wa-loaf. It was a regular office day today in Manila. Some of my friends were actually surprised that they let them off work early in the afternoon to prepare for the storm. Winds are howling now because the storm has crept up to Manila but friends are sending me texts asking if I want to have dinner. Filipinos are weird people.

By the way, I just posted a video on my FB wall showing the devastation down south. It's a different story there. Heartbreaking. Awful.

 

[snowmonster]

Glad to hear you're out of harm's way Snowmonster. Mother Nature is humbling, hope she blesses us with a snowy Winter.

Thanks, man! If all this rain was snow, we'd be having an epic powder day here too!

 

[bigbog]

stay safe snowmonster.....

 

[snowmonster]

To my friends on Alpinezone,

Thank you all for your concern for me and my family. Manila (in the Philippines where I currently live) is all right and my family and I are doing well. The city did not bear the brunt of the supertyphoon Haiyan/Yolanda.

However, I can't say the same thing about the Visayas region down south. The provinces of Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Panay Island (Iloilo, Capiz, Antique and Aklan) and northern Palawan were all in the direct path of the storm. Bohol, which was also hit recently by a massive earthquake, was not spared. You probably have seen photos and videos of the utter devastation. While we would like to wish the devastation away, they are all true and they're not going away without some great effort and hard work. Already, government workers and volunteers from around the Philippines and abroad are fanning out across the stricken areas to deliver relief goods and rebuild. Unfortunately, as relief workers reach areas that were isolated by the storm, we expect more awful news in the coming days.

If you are so inclined, please help in any way you can. I am sharing a list of relief agencies abroad where you can channel your aid. I am not a political person nor a member of NGOs. I just grabbed the lists off the internet in the hope that every little bit counts. We share in a common humanity and this is a time for all of us to come together. Thank you again for your concern.

Best regards,

snowmonster

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/09/philippines-haiyan-how-to-help-_n_4247106.html

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/11/09/world/iyw-how-to-help-typhoon-haiyan/

 

[dmc]

Our contractors in Manilla are at work today ...

Our's are checking in now too.. psheww...
But they all still haven't heard from family in other cities... So they are a bit distracted..
I may be rolling up the sleeves adn helping with DBA work today...