Typhoon Vamco batters Vietnam & Philippines leaving 67 dead and 12 injured
The deadliest of typhoon to have hit Philippines this year claimed 67 lives and injured 12 more. The windspeed ranging up to 150 kph or 93 mph roughly had hit the coast of Vietnam 100km or some 62 miles northwest to Da Nang this Sunday according to CNN weather reports.
The storm is seemingly weakening in form as it gradually continues to travel inland however this does not overshadow the imminent threat impending from flooding and landslides. A strong typhoon as declared by the Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc which made authorities warn provinces to prepare for bracing the storm along its projected path. This further led to evacuation of the provinces of about 4,68,000 people up until Saturday but the disaster management team.
The coast guard as well as disaster response teams in Philippines scrabbled hard this Saturday on a rescue mission of thousands in the northern provinces after Philippines bore the brunt of the 21st cyclone this very year that saw the storm ripping through the major island Luzon late on Wednesday and early Thursday.
Early reports stated some twenty-five thousand houses to have been completely destroyed with 9.7 million dollars’ worth of infrastructure been damaged as announced by the spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Mr. Mark Timbal this Sunday.
The damage to agriculture is approximately about 24.7 million dollars due to the flooding and landslides that were the after effects of the typhoon brought in by the strong winds blowing and the heavy rainfall simultaneously.
The consequent flooding followed by the effects of accumulation of previous weather disturbances coupled with the water from the dams & plains at higher altitudes led to thousands of families being affected and with no sooner respite saw people taking refuge on rooftops to avoid and escape the high floods of up to two storeys.
Typhoon Vamco succeeded Typhoon Goni that had brought in heavy rainfall to the southern provinces of Luzon and had killed vast scores of people a couple of days earlier. The weather gods seem to have taken ire and the recent ongoings only adds to the hundred other reasons to hate 2020, a year of unprecedented events lining up the calendar.
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News Source: CNN
Update by Tithi Banerjee