Philippines moves to calm panic-buying as typhoon bears down
Source: Reuters
Panic-buying of food broke out in the central Philippines on Thursday and schools and government offices were shut, as provinces yet to recover from last year's devastating super-typhoon Haiyan braced for another category 5 storm.
The government said it was considering declaring a state of national calamity to freeze prices of basic goods and President Benigno Aquino ordered the trade department to send more food supplies to provinces at risk from typhoon Hagupit.
"We want to bring in a lot more supplies to cut down on panic buying," Aquino said at a meeting of his disaster command at the main military base in Manila shown on live television.
The move followed reports of stores shutting days ahead of the typhoon in order to raise prices of goods later.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/04/us-philippines-typhoon-idUSKCN0JI09Y20141204
adirondacker
(2,921 posts)high"
Super Typhoon Hagupit is gathering strength in the Western Pacific and threatening to deal another significant blow to the Philippines.
The Weather Channel reports the tropical cyclone is already significant:
"At 8 p.m. EST Wednesday, the U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated Hagupit's maximum sustained 1-minute wind speed at 180 mph, putting it in a tie with Super Typhoons Vongfong and Nuri in October as the most powerful typhoon of 2014. Hagupit is now the equivalent of a high-end Category 5 hurricane.
"Around the same time, the Japan Meteorological Agency declared Hagupit a 'violent' typhoon, the highest classification on its scale, with 10-minute sustained winds of 120 mph."
This is of course, a huge concern for the Philippines, because some parts of the island chain are still recovering from Super Typhoon Haiyan, which the BBC notes was the "most powerful typhoon ever recorded over land."
The BBC adds:
"Hagupit is not expected to be a powerful as Haiyan, but could bring storm surges up to one storey high.
"The vice-mayor of Tacloban, the city which was worst hit by Haiyan, said the authorities were enforcing evacuation orders.
"'We have no more excuse, we have gone through Yolanda, and to lose that many lives, it's beyond our conscience already,' Jerry Yaokasin told reporters on Wednesday."
Hagupit is forecast to make landfall on Saturday local time, which means Friday on the U.S. clock."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/12/04/368415907/super-typhoon-hagupit-takes-aim-for-the-philippines
Cha
(297,496 posts)JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)may cease to exist during my lifetime. All of these epic weather events, in such close succession, how many times can a nation rebuild? Why bother doing it if it will be devasted again in a year?
Julie
darkangel218
(13,985 posts)Just like New Orleans rebuilt, and those living in the Tornado Alley.
Its their home
JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)darkangel218
(13,985 posts)But until then, people will stay. Like I said, it's their home.