Earthquake Hits Philippines with 7.2 magnitude

(Updated 8:35 a.m.) SYDNEY - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 hit the southern Philippines on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said there was no threat of a Pacific-wide tsunami after the quake.
The quake struck at a depth of about 35 km (22 miles) around Bohol island, to the north of Mindanao island. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. —Reuters
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Floods in Philippines kills more than 400 people

msnbc.com news services
updated 12/17/2011 6:40:37 PM ET


MANILA, Philippines — Flash floods devastated a southern Philippines region unaccustomed to serious storms, killing more than 500 people while they slept, rousting hundreds of others to their rooftops and turning two coastal cities into muddy, debris-filled waterways that were strewn Saturday with overturned vehicles and toppled trees.

Most of the victims were asleep Friday night when raging floodwaters cascaded from the mountains after 12 hours of rain from a late-season tropical storm in the southern Mindanao region. The region is unaccustomed to the typhoons that are common elsewhere in the nation of islands.

Ayi Hernandez, a former congressman, said he and his family were resting in their home in Cagayan de Oro late Friday when they heard a loud "swooshing sound" and water quickly rose ankle-deep inside. He decided to evacuate to a neighbor's two-story house.

"It was a good thing, because in less than an hour the water rose to about 11 feet," filling his home up to the ceiling, he said.

Photoblog: Storm, floods hits south Philippines

At least 521 were dead, based on a body count in funeral parlors, Philippine Red Cross Secretary General Gwen Pang told The Associated Press. She said that 239 died in Cagayan de Oro — a city of more than 500,000 — and 195 in nearby Iligan, with more than 300,000 residents. The rest died in several other southern and central provinces, she said.

Many of the bodies were unclaimed after nearly 24 hours, suggesting that entire families had died, Pang said.

In a text message to Reuters, Pang said the death toll was expected to rise.
"Our death toll was based on the actual number of bodies that were brought to funeral homes in the two cities that were the hardest hit by the typhoon," Pang said.

Missing in the storm
The number of missing was unclear Saturday night. Before the latest Red Cross figures, military spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said about 250 people were still unaccounted for in Iligan.

The swollen river sent floodwaters gushing through neighborhoods that do not usually experience flooding. A man floated in an inner tube in muddy water littered with plastic buckets, pieces of wood and other debris. Ten people in one home stood on a sloping roof, waiting for rescuers even as water still flooded the lower floors.

Television pictures showed bodies encased in mud, cars piled on top of each other and wrecked homes. Helicopters and boats searched the sea for survivors and victims.

"We ran for our lives when we heard a loud whistle blow and was followed by a big bang," Michael Mabaylan, 38, a carpenter, told Reuters. He said his wife and five children were all safe.

Aid worker Crislyn Felisilda cited concern about children who had became separated from their families or lost their parents. "Many children are looking for their loved ones... (and children were) crying and staring into space."

Rosal Agacac, a 40-year-old mother, was begging authorities to help find her two children after their shanty was swept to the sea. "Please President Noynoy, help me," she cried, holding a candle at a spot where their house stood before the floods, referring to President Benigno Aquino.

Benito Ramos, chief of the government's Civil Defense Office, attributed the high casualties in Mindanao "partly to the complacency of people because they are not in the usual path of storms" despite four days of warnings by officials that one was approaching.


Thousands of soldiers backed up by hundreds of local police, reservists, coast guard officers and civilian volunteers were mobilized for rescue efforts, but they were hampered by the flooded-out roads and lack of electricity.

Many roads were cut off and there was no electricity, hampering relief efforts.

The missing included prominent Filipino radio broadcaster Enie Alsonado, who was swept away while trying to save his neighbors, Iligan Mayor Lawrence Cruz said.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro said that about 20,000 residents of the city had been affected and that evacuees were packed in temporary shelters.

'Tragedy'
Authorities recovered bodies from the mud after the water subsided. Parts of concrete walls and roofs, toppled vehicles and other debris littered the streets.

Rescuers in boats rushed offshore to save people swept out to sea. In Misamis Oriental province, 60 people were plucked from the ocean off El Salvador city, about six miles (10 kilometers) northwest of Cagayan de Oro, said disaster official Teddy Sabuga-a.

About 120 more were rescued off Opol township, closer to the city, he added.

Cruz said the Philippine coast guard and other rescuers were scouring the waters off Iligan for survivors or bodies that may have been swept away to sea.

Tropical Storm Washi dumped on Mindanao more than a month of average rains in just 12 hours.

It quickly cut across the region overnight and headed for Palawan province southwest of Manila on Saturday night.

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yphoon Pepeng is forecast to bring more rains and very strong winds in Northern Luzon

Signal No. 1 hoisted over 6 provinces
Latest DOST-PAGASA MTSAT-EIR Satellite Image (timestamp on image is UTC; add 8 hours to convert to Philippine Standard Time)
MANILA - Weather bureau PAGASA on Thursday said typhoon Pepeng (international codename Parma) is forecast to bring more rains and very strong winds in Northern Luzon including Metro Manila once it makes landfall Saturday afternoon.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, PAGASA said Pepeng has intensified further, now packing winds of 195 kilometers per hour near the center, and gusts of up to 230 kph.
As of 5 p.m., PAGASA weather branch chief Nathaniel Cruz said the typhoon was sighted 440 km east of Catarman, Northern Samar and is moving 24 kilometers per hour in the general direction of Northern Luzon and the Taiwan area.
Typhoon Pepeng (Parma): Forecasts
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA): Tropical Cyclone Update
Manila Observatory
Japan Meteorological Agency
Taiwan Central Weather Bureau
Hong Kong Observatory
World Meteorolgical Organization (WMO) Severe Weather information Centre
US Navy: Joint Typhoon Warning Center
The typhoon is expected to be 100 km northeast of Virac, Catanduanes or 300 km southeast of Baler, Aurora by Friday afternoon.
Cruz said the typhoon is forecast to make landfall over Aurora-Isabela by Saturday morning or afternoon. He said the typhoon will bring occasional rains over the eastern section of Luzon and Visayas and more frequent rains in Samar and Bicol Thursday afternoon.
Gale-force winds are also forecast over Visayas and Mindanao.
Storm Signal no.1 has been hoisted in Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Quezon (including the Polilio Islands), and Aurora.
"Residents in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes under signal #1 are advised to take all the necessary precautionary measures against possible flashfloods and landslides," the PAGASA weather bulletin stated.
"The public and the disaster coordinating councils concerned are advised to take appropriate actions and watch for the next bulletin to be issued at 11 P.M. today (Thursday)," it added.
Stronger than Ondoy, similar to Reming
Cruz, in an earlier press conference, said Pepeng is much stronger than last Saturday's tropical storm Ondoy (international codename Ketsana), which brought record amounts of rainfall and triggered the worst flooding in Metro Manila in 40 years.
"In terms of wind intensity, Ondoy was only half of the strength of Pepeng. When it made landfall, Ondoy only had winds of 85 kph while Pepeng is 175 kph. However, we cannot really compare the two because it was the rain that was really destructive about Ondoy," he said.
He added: "Our major concern with Pepeng is the disastrous winds - 175 kph to 210 kph. We expect typhoon Pepeng to intensify further as it moves towards northern Luzon."
He said the weather bureau will give a forecast on the typhoon's estimated rainfall intensity before it makes landfall.
Cruz also likened typhoon Pepeng to super-typhoon Reming (international codename Durian), which killed at least 734 people in the country in 2006.
"This could be like Reming. We are not just talking here about Metro Manila. We are talking of the entire Luzon area where there is probability of devastation in terms of flooding...and wind," he said.
Dams to release water
Dr. Susan Espinueva, assistant weather services chief of the Hydro Metrological Division of PAGASA, said major dams in Northern Luzon have been releasing water before Pepeng hits.
"All major dams in Northen Luzon wll be releasing water to lower the water level so that when the storm hits, there will be a buffer of storage capacity in our dams and the spillover will not be as severe,' she said.
Among the dams that have released water are the Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan; Binga Dam in Itogon, Benguet Province; Ambuklao Dam in Bokod, Benguet; Magat Dam in Ramon, Isabela province; and Pantabangan Dam in Nueva Ecija.
Espinueva said Angat Dam started releasing water since 10 a.m. Tuesday to lower the water level from 214 to 212 meters. She said maximum outflow of 500 cubic meters per second was released from the dam.
She said that as of 3 p.m. Friday, the Caliraya Dam in Lumban, Laguna also started releasing water. "Water coming from the dam will affect the towns of Lumban and Pagsanjan," she said.
The government has started preparing more evacuation centers as it anticipates more people to be displaced by the new storm.
Disaster officials fear more rains spawned by the typhoon could trigger another massive flood as streets and drainage systems remain clogged from the tons of debris left by the previous deluge caused by tropical storm Ondoy (international codename Ketsana).
As of 6 a.m., the National Disaster Coordinating Council said more than half a million families of 2.50 million individuals have been affected by Ondoy in 11 regions, including Metro Manila and the Calabarzon area in southern Luzon.
It said that a total of 686,699 people are now staying in 726 evacuation centers. It said Ondoy’s death toll has reached 277 and 42 were still missing.
The storm, which also devastated Vietnam and Cambodia, damaged crops and infrastructure worth at least P4.80 billion.
Coast Guard limits sea travel
Coast Guard commandant Vice-Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo said he has placed all Coast Guard units in affected areas of the new storm on heightened alert.
He said all sea vessels below 1,000 gross tonnage have been barred from sailing in Catanduanes, Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte as of Thursday morning.
"If Storm Signal no. 2 is hoisted, no vessel will be permitted to sail. We are warning fishing bats and smaller vessels not to venture out to sea. Maritime travelers going to the affected areas are advised to delay their trips," he said. . With a report from the Agence France-Presse

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massive tsunami hurled by a powerful earthquake flattened Samoan villages

APIA, Samoa – A massive tsunami hurled by a powerful earthquake flattened Samoan villages and swept cars and people out to sea, killing at least 99 and leaving dozens missing Wednesday. The toll was expected to rise.
The same day, western Indonesia was rocked by a strong underwater temblor, briefly triggering a tsunami alert for countries along the Indian Ocean and sending panicked residents out of their houses. The alert was later canceled.
Survivors of the South Pacific islands tsunami fled the fast-churning water for higher ground and remained huddled there hours after the quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn Tuesday.
The quake was centered about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Samoa, an island nation of 180,000 people located about halfway between New Zealand and Hawaii. It was about 120 miles (190 kilometers) from neighboring American Samoa, a U.S. territory that is home to 65,000 people.
Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) high roared ashore on American Samoa, reaching up to a mile (1.5 kilometers) inland, Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, was quoted as saying by a parks service spokeswoman.
Hampered by power and communications outages, officials struggled to determine damage and casualties.
Samoan police commissioner Lilo Maiava told The Associated Press that police there had confirmed 63 deaths but that officials were still searching the devastated areas, so the number of deaths might rise soon.
Hundreds of injured people were being treated by health workers, and people were still cramming into centers seeking treatment, Maiava said.
At least 30 people were killed on American Samoa, Gov. Togiola Tulafono said, adding that the toll was expected to rise as emergency crews were recovering bodies overnight.
"I don't think anybody is going to be spared in this disaster," said Tulafono, who was in Hawaii for a conference.
In Washington, President Obama has declared a major disaster for American Samoa.
Obama said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in contact with emergency responders, and the U.S. Coast Guard is helping deliver resources to areas in need of assistance.
The disaster declaration allows the United States to provide the support necessary for a "full, swift and aggressive response," the president said.
In a statement issued early Wednesday, Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, "will keep those who have lost so much in our thoughts and prayers."
Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi looked shaken Wednesday on board a flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to the Samoan capital of Apia.
"So much has gone. So many people are gone," he told reporters on board. "I'm so shocked, so saddened by all the loss."
Malielegaoi said his own village of Lepa was destroyed.
"Thankfully, the alarm sounded on the radio and gave people time to climb to higher ground," he said. "But not everyone escaped."
Gov. Tulafono told reporters in Hawaii that a member of his extended family was among the dead in American Samoa.
Because the closeness of the community, "each and every family is going to be affected by someone who's lost their life," he said as he boarded a Coast Guard C-130 plane in Hawaii to return home. The plane, which also carried FEMA officials and aid, was scheduled to arrive at about 7 a.m. local time. (2 p.m. EDT; 1800 GMT)
Authorities in Tonga confirmed at least six additional people dead in the island nation west of the Samoas, New Zealand's acting Prime Minister Bill English said. He said Tongan officials told him that four people were missing after the tsunami swept ashore on the northern island of Niua.
"There are a considerable number of people who've been swept out to sea and are unaccounted for," English said. "We don't have information about the full impact and we do have some real concern that over the next 12 hours the picture could look worse rather than better."
Britain's Press Association news agency, citing unidentified sources, said that a 2-year-old British child was killed in Samoa. It was unclear whether that reported death was included in the overall toll. The Foreign Office said Wednesday that one British national was missing and presumed dead in the disaster.
A New Zealand P3 Orion maritime surveillance airplane had reached the region Wednesday afternoon and had searched for survivors off the coast, he said. It was expected to resume searching at first light.
The Samoa Red Cross said it had opened five temporary shelters and estimated that about 15,000 people were affected by the tsunami.
New Zealander Graeme Ansell said the Samoan beach village of Sau Sau Beach Fale was leveled.
"It was very quick. The whole village has been wiped out," Ansell told New Zealand's National Radio from a hill near Samoa's capital, Apia. "There's not a building standing. We've all clambered up hills, and one of our party has a broken leg. There will be people in a great lot of need 'round here."
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told Seven Network in Australia that two Australians had died in the tsunami, including a 6-year-old girl.
Mase Akapo, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in American Samoa, reported at least 19 people killed in four different villages on the main island of Tutuila. Officials reported at least 50 injured.
Residents in both Samoa and American Samoa reported being shaken awake by the quake early Tuesday, which lasted two to three minutes and was centered about 20 miles (32 kilometers) below the ocean floor. It was followed by at least three large aftershocks of at least 5.6 magnitude.
The quake came Tuesday morning for the Samoas, which lie just east of the international dateline. For Asia-Pacific countries on the other side of the line, it was already Wednesday.
The Samoan capital, Apia, was virtually deserted by afternoon, with schools and businesses closed. Hours after the waves struck, fresh sirens rang out with another tsunami alert and panicked residents headed for higher ground again, although there was no indication of a new quake.
In American Samoa's capital of Pago Pago, the streets and fields were filled with ocean debris, mud, overturned cars and several boats as a massive cleanup effort continued into the night. Several buildings in the city — just a few feet above sea level — were flattened by either the quake or the tsunami.
Several areas were expected to be without electricity for up to a month.
The dominant industry in American Samoa — tuna canneries — was also affected. Chicken of the Sea's tuna packing plant in American Samoa was forced to close although the facility wasn't damaged, the San Diego-based company said.
The effects of the tsunami could be felt thousands of miles away.
Japan's Meteorological Agency said "very weak" tsunami waves were registered off the island of Hachijojima about 10 hours after the quake. There were no reports of injuries or damage in Japan, which is about 4,700 miles (7,600 kilometers) northwest of Samoa.
U.S. officials said strong currents and dangerous waves were forecast from California to Washington state. No major flooding was expected, however.
In Los Angeles, lifeguards said they would clear beaches at about 8 p.m. in response to an advisory for possible dangerous currents.
While the earthquake and tsunami were big, they were not on the same scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, said Brian Atwater of the U.S. Geological Survey in Seattle. That tsunami killed more than 230,000 in a dozen countries across Asia.
___
Sagapolutele reported from Pago Pago, American Samoa. Associated Press writers Ray Lilley in Wellington, New Zealand; Jaymes Song and Herbert A. Sample in Honolulu and Seth Borenstein and Michele Salcedo in Washington contributed to this report.

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US soldiers were killed in the southern Philippines

MANILA (AFP) - – Two US soldiers were killed in the southern Philippines Tuesday in the deadliest attack against American troops there since they began helping local forces stamp out Muslim extremists in 2001, officials said.
The blast that killed the two soldiers also claimed the life of a local Marine and left two other Filipino Marines seriously wounded, Philippine military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner said in Manila.
The explosion struck the troops as they were riding a Humvee vehicle on the outskirts of a town on Jolo island, where the Muslim militant Abu Sayyaf group is active, according to Brawner.
Suspected Abu Sayyaf members set off an improvised bomb near a police station at another Jolo village about 20 kilometres (12 miles) away shortly before the explosion, local police said.
No one was injured in that incident.
Brawner did not directly blame the Abu Sayyaf, saying an investigation was still under way.
He also insisted the US soldiers were doing development work, and were not fighting the Abu Sayyaf.
"These US servicemen... were non-combatants. They were there to supervise the developmental projects in the area when they were attacked," he told reporters.
"There was no firefight."
The US military said it believed the Americans were killed by an improvised explosive, and not a landmine, as the Philippine military had first said, which would mean they were targeted for attack, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters in Washington.
"We feel the best way to describe this is as an improvised explosive device," said Whitman.
It was the first time the 600-strong US contingent in the Philippines had been targeted by an improvised explosive, he said, a frequent tactic used by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A US embassy statement said the soldiers were on a supply run for a school construction project when the explosion took place.
"They lost their lives serving others and we will always be grateful for their contributions to improve the quality of life on Jolo," US ambassador Kristie Kenney said in the statement.
The Philippine foreign affairs department hailed the US soldiers, saying their activities on Jolo "assisting" the Philippine military were "important to the Filipino people".
The Abu Sayyaf was established in the early 1990s, allegedly with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, to fight for a Muslim state in the south of this mainly Roman Catholic nation.
It has kidnapped dozens of foreign aid workers, missionaries and tourists and was blamed for the country's worst terrorist strike, the bombing of a ferry in 2004 that killed more than 100 people.
US soldiers first arrived in the southern Philippines in December 2001 as part of then US president George W. Bush's "war on terror".
However under an agreement between the two nations, the US forces were allowed only to advise and train the Philippine soldiers and were banned from engaging in combat operations.
A few hundred US soldiers are believed to be in the southern Philippines at any one time, and attacks against them have been rare compared with in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However one US soldier was killed and another seriously wounded when a bomb, believed to have been planted by the Abu Sayyaf, went off in a bar in the southern port city of Zamboanga in October 2002.
And just two weeks ago, a small bomb was hurled at a wharf in Jolo where US troops were unloading supplies. No one was injured in the incident.
The Abu Sayyaf is believed to have only a few hundred active militants and many of its key leaders have been killed in recent years.
But, with strong family ties in the southern Philippines, it remains a strong opponent for security forces.
Earlier this month, Philippine soldiers overran an Abu Sayyaf camp on Jolo, resulting in the deaths of 24 guerrillas and eight Filipino soldiers.
On the nearby island of Basilan last month, Abu Sayyaf militants killed 23 Philippine soldiers and lost 20 of their own when security forces raided one of their camps.

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822 people rescued in Metro Manila

MANILA, Philipppines - A total of 822 people were rescued by authorities from their flooded homes in many parts of Metro Manila, the National Disaster Coordinating Council said today (Sept. 27).
Some residents of Pasig, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela, and Marikina were taken by rescue teams from their houses which were submerged in flooded water, the NDCC said.
NDCC chairman and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro called on mall and shopping complex owners in Metro Manila to open their parking spaces to thounsands of people stranded in the streets due to the overnight downpour.
Metro Manila was hit hard by massive flooding due to typhoon "Ondoy" (international name Ketsana).
Yesterday, the NDCC declared the National Capital Region and some regions in Luzon and Bicol in a state of calamity.
President Arroyo leads the 2 p.m. NDCC meeting today for an update on the damage as well as rescue operations after an aerial survey of several affected areas.
  - By Dennis Carcamo (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
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massive flooding that has displaced nearly half a million people in philippines

MANILA (AFP) - – The Philippine government said Monday it could not cope with massive flooding that has displaced nearly half a million people, amid fears the death toll could soar well past the official tally of 86.
Reaching people still stranded after Saturday's disaster in the national capital of Manila and surrounding areas, possible disease outbreaks, looting and providing survivors with aid were all big concerns, authorities said.
"We are concentrating on massive relief operations. (But) the system is overwhelmed, local government units are overwhelmed," the head of the National Disaster Coordinating Council, Anthony Golez, told reporters.
"We were used to helping one city, one or two provinces but now, they are following one after another. Our assets and people are spread too thinly."
Saturday's disaster saw tropical storm Ketsana drop the heaviest rain in more than 40 years on Manila and neighbouring areas of Luzon island.
The nine-hour deluge left some areas of Metro Manila, a sprawling city of 12 million people, under six metres (20 feet) of water, with poor drainage systems and other failed infrastructure exacerbating the problem.
Eighty percent of the city was submerged and some areas remained more than knee-deep in water on Monday. Local television reported that some people remained stranded on the second floors of their homes.
Adding to the chaos, telephone and power services in some parts of the city remained cut, while local government officials said survivors in makeshift evacuation camps were desperately short of food, water and clothes.
Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the official death toll stood at 86, with another 32 people missing. He said more than 435,000 people had been displaced.
However, radio station DZBB quoted local officials as saying that 58 more bodies had been recovered from a flooded area in the Manila suburb of Marikina, and that they had not yet been included in the official tally.
Teodoro, who is heading the government's rescue operation, said the government was looking into that report.
The chief of a riverside village in Quezon city, part of Metro Manila, also told AFP that 29 bodies had been recovered and 108 people remained missing from his community.
Armando Endaya, captain of Bagong Silangan village, said those deaths had not been reported to national government officials.
Endaya was overseeing a makeshift evacuation camp set up at a gymnasium, where more than 3,000 people were sheltering on the concrete floor alongside 11 white coffins containing the bodies of their neighbours.
"We are overwhelmed. We are waiting for more aid to arrive. We are trying to mobilise our own relief operations here. But we need more help," Endaya told AFP from the gymnasium, which had a roof but no walls.
The home of Edgar Halog, 44, a jeepney driver, was destroyed in the floods and he was sheltering at the centre with his wife and seven children aged between three and 12.
"We do not have any money, we do not know what to do. We don't have any other relatives. We are waiting for food rations," Halog told AFP.
With sanitation services across the city in disarray, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said authorities were working to prevent disease outbreaks.
"Our surveillance is continuing in evacuation centres for possible outbreaks and epidemics," he said.
Our health teams are bringing in water and (products for) sanitation and hygiene at evacuation centres to make sure that disease does not spread."
Looting was also a concern.
Many people were refusing to leave their flooded homes because they wanted to protect their belongings from looters, Teodoro and other officials said.
Initial frantic rescue efforts saw military helicopters and rubber boats fan out across the city to pluck people off houses and car roofs.
The government said more than 7,900 people had been rescued.

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