The Philippines are bracing themselves for yet another powerful typhoon, even as rescue efforts are going on to find the missing from the last Tropical Storm that hit on Monday.
Tropical Storm Winnie hit the northern Philippines, causing flooding and landslides and there are now 500 people dead or missing. Most of the casualties are in the towns of Real, Infanta and General Nakar in Quezon province which is about 50 miles east of Manila. The weather in these areas is already deteriorating as typhoon Nanmadol approaches, so rescue aircraft have been grounded.
Typhoon Nanmadol has already moved through the Caroline Islands, bringing stormy weather and half a months worth of rain (106mm) and it is now making its way towards the Philippines. The typhoon is expected to arrive in the North of the Philippines late on Thursday or early on Friday. Although not a super typhoon, it will not be far off with winds just about 10mph lower than the threshold to make it a super typhoon. So sustained winds of 140mph will be accompanied by very heavy rain, adding to the flooding problems already evident.
The Philippines are hit by about 20 typhoons every year. The most destructive recently was Thelma which hit Leyte Island in November 1991 causing severe flooding in Ormoc City that drowned around 5000 people.
Once typhoon Nanmadol has cleared away from the Philippines it is expected to continue on its way towards Taiwan for the weekend.
