MANILA, 2 December 2004 — Thousands of residents in storm-hit eastern Philippine towns began fleeing their homes for safer grounds yesterday as a stronger typhoon bore down on the area where floods and landslides have killed more than 400 people. Typhoon Nanmadol, with winds of up to 240 kph (150 mph), was forecast to hit the east coast of the main island of Luzon tonight or early Friday.
Nanmadol was roaring toward the country from the Pacific Ocean at 44 kilometers (27 miles) per hour, said the weather bureau PAGASA.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has just returned from a regional summit in Laos, called off plans to fly to the storm-hit areas after warnings that it was not safe for helicopters to fly. As rescue workers struggled to reach survivors on rooftops and dry patches of land, the coast guard prevented ferries, small boats and fishermen from leaving ports.
“The people here are preparing for the coming typhoon, which we heard is a strong one,” said Carlos Nolledo, a village leader from Infanta, one of the towns hit by flash floods and landslides at the height of Storm Winnie. Entire villages were washed away by Tropical Storm Winnie on Monday night in the province of Quezon, and three towns — Real, Infanta and General Nakar — suffered 364 dead and 139 missing, said the Office of Civil Defense in Manila.
At least 20 were killed in nearby Aurora province, four in Bulacan province north of Manila, 22 in Rizal province, and one each in Camarines Norte and Manila.
Twenty-five of the fatalities were killed when a building used as an evacuation center in Real town collapsed on Tuesday, officials said yesterday.
Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes told government disaster officials in Manila that as of noon, police reported a total of 177 missing.
— Additional input from agencies
