(Picture courtesy of ABC news) typhoon ondoy (ketsana) hit vietnam: after philippines
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MANILA (AFP) - – A typhoon that threatened to bring more devastation to millions of flood survivors in the Philippines veered from the disaster zone Saturday, but officials warned it could still cause major damage.
Typhoon Parma, billed earlier as a supertyphoon as it raced toward the country, altered course towards the northernmost tip of the Philippines' main Luzon island and away from the nation's partly submerged capital Manila.
"The threat of typhoon Pepeng to us (in and around Manila) has eased," weather bureau spokesman Nathaniel Cruz said in a radio interview, referring to Parma's local name.
"That is good news."
Parma was now expected to land Saturday evening on the province of Cagayan, north of its earlier predicted landfall in Aurora province and about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Manila.
It was packing sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour (109 mph) and gusts of up to 210 kph, easing slightly from Friday but still capable of inflicting major damage.
The Philippines had been fearfully bracing for Parma, which churned toward the country just a week after tropical storm Ketsana triggered the worst flooding in 40 years in and around Manila, leaving 293 people dead.
Of the more than three million people affected, about 400,000 remain in overcrowded and poorly supplied evacuation centres in Manila and nearby areas.
National Disaster Coordinating Councilspokesmanm Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said that with the threat from Parma easing, "we can now focus on relief efforts" for the Ketsana victims.
However Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who heads the council, cautioned people in the disaster area against becoming complacent and warned those in evacuation camps not to return to their homes.
"While the storm has changed course, it does not mean there will be no rains... We're not yet sure if it will not rain and if it will not flood again," he said in a radio interview.
Heavy rain showers had already fallen across Manila on Friday night and before dawn Saturday, adding to the burden of the sprawling city of 12 million people that was awash with flooding six-metres (20-feet) high last Saturday.
Parts of Manila and its outskirts remained flooded a week after the disasters, and even relatively small amounts of water could cause problems for dangerously swollen rivers and lakes.
After being accused of not preparing the nation properly for Ketsana, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday placed the Philippines under a "state of calamity" to expedite relief efforts and get ready for Parma.
The Philippine weather bureau said that before dawn Saturday, Parma was plotted 260 kilometres (161.5 miles) southeast of Cagayan, an agricultural and fish farming province.
It was forecast to move northwest at 17 kph and smash Cagayan and northern parts of nearby Isabela province in the evening.
"As of now, we are thankful that the storm is not wreaking much havoc but we are expecting the worst," said Isabela police chief Senior Superintendent Jimmy Rivera.
He said residents who were deemed to be in danger had been evacuated.
But he said all roads and bridges remained passable in the province, one of the country's top rice producers and where fish farms are a main source of livelihood.
Typhoon Parma, billed earlier as a supertyphoon as it raced toward the country, altered course towards the northernmost tip of the Philippines' main Luzon island and away from the nation's partly submerged capital Manila.
"The threat of typhoon Pepeng to us (in and around Manila) has eased," weather bureau spokesman Nathaniel Cruz said in a radio interview, referring to Parma's local name.
"That is good news."
Parma was now expected to land Saturday evening on the province of Cagayan, north of its earlier predicted landfall in Aurora province and about 400 kilometres (250 miles) from Manila.
It was packing sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour (109 mph) and gusts of up to 210 kph, easing slightly from Friday but still capable of inflicting major damage.
The Philippines had been fearfully bracing for Parma, which churned toward the country just a week after tropical storm Ketsana triggered the worst flooding in 40 years in and around Manila, leaving 293 people dead.
Of the more than three million people affected, about 400,000 remain in overcrowded and poorly supplied evacuation centres in Manila and nearby areas.
National Disaster Coordinating Councilspokesmanm Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres said that with the threat from Parma easing, "we can now focus on relief efforts" for the Ketsana victims.
However Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who heads the council, cautioned people in the disaster area against becoming complacent and warned those in evacuation camps not to return to their homes.
"While the storm has changed course, it does not mean there will be no rains... We're not yet sure if it will not rain and if it will not flood again," he said in a radio interview.
Heavy rain showers had already fallen across Manila on Friday night and before dawn Saturday, adding to the burden of the sprawling city of 12 million people that was awash with flooding six-metres (20-feet) high last Saturday.
Parts of Manila and its outskirts remained flooded a week after the disasters, and even relatively small amounts of water could cause problems for dangerously swollen rivers and lakes.
After being accused of not preparing the nation properly for Ketsana, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Friday placed the Philippines under a "state of calamity" to expedite relief efforts and get ready for Parma.
The Philippine weather bureau said that before dawn Saturday, Parma was plotted 260 kilometres (161.5 miles) southeast of Cagayan, an agricultural and fish farming province.
It was forecast to move northwest at 17 kph and smash Cagayan and northern parts of nearby Isabela province in the evening.
"As of now, we are thankful that the storm is not wreaking much havoc but we are expecting the worst," said Isabela police chief Senior Superintendent Jimmy Rivera.
He said residents who were deemed to be in danger had been evacuated.
But he said all roads and bridges remained passable in the province, one of the country's top rice producers and where fish farms are a main source of livelihood.
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