Tropical Storm Sendong Rages Over The Philippines, Leaving 180 Dead & 400 Missing
By Asian Scientist Newsroom | Top News
December 17, 2011
Tropical storm Sendong is making landfall across the southern Philippines, unleashing floods that has already left 180 people dead and nearly 400 missing, officials said Saturday.
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AsianScientist (Dec. 17, 2011) – Tropical storm Washi (known as Sendong in the Philippines) is making landfall across the southern Philippines, unleashing floods that has already left 180 people dead and nearly 400 missing, officials said Saturday.
Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) warnings in effect for December 17 include:
- Public storm warning signal #1 (45-60 kmph winds) for Luzon: Cuyo and Coron Islands; and for Visayas: Southern Negros Occidental.
- Public storm warning signal #2 (60-100 kmph winds) for Luzon: Palawan.
At 4 pm (PHT) today, the center of Sendong was estimated at 220 kilometers west of Dumaguete City. Sendong is expected to cross Palawan early tomorrow and be 300 km West Southwest of Puerto Princesa City by tomorrow afternoon.
An update on the Armed Forces of the Philippines official Twitter account today at 6:40 pm (PHT) read:
“The whole Armed Forces of the Philippines would like to express our condolences to the families of the victims of typhoon #Sendong.”
“Rest assured that we will continue our rescue efforts to help our kababayans in Mindanao.”
Officials say that 20,000 soldiers have been mobilized across the north coast of Mindanao for rescue and relief operations, especially at the badly hit ports of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan.
Two typhoons, Nesat and Nalgae, hit the country in late September and early October, leaving more than 100 people dead, while tropical storm Banyan killed eight more people in October.
In October, Philippine Senator Loren Legarda called for an integrated flood warning and response system to deal with the 20 or more major storms that hit the Philippines anually.
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Source: NDRRMC; Image Credit: NASA/SSAI, Hal Pierce.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.
