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Blackouts, falling trees, giant waves as Yolanda smashes through central PHL

Published November 8, 2013 11:56am

As super typhoon Yolanda smashed into his province, Southern Leyte Governor Roger Mercado on Friday morning warned other provinces in its path not to underestimate one of the most powerful storms in recorded history.

“[Ang] sitwasyon dito, malakas ang hangin at ulan. Pwede siguro pakisabi sa lahat ng probinsya at syudad na dadaanan ng Yolanda na do not underestimate (the storm),” Mercado said in an interview on GMA News TV's News To Go.

“Please inform everybody not to take lightly this typhoon. Pinakamalakas since my birth,” said the 63-year-old governor, who is also a former congressman representing the province.

Weather forecasters said Yolanda (Haiyan) is the strongest storm ever known to make landfall and the fourth strongest storm ever recorded in the world.

"Ito na ang pinakamalakas na bagyong naranasan ngayong taon sa buong mundo," noted PAGASA weather forecaster Aldczar Aurelio in an interview on GMA News to Go.

An army spokesman said a man was killed in a shelter area in Surigao del Sur province when he was electrocuted by a toppled power line.

Yolanda made its first landfall in Guiuan in Eastern Samar early Friday morning. It has since made landfall at least twice more as it steamrolled through the central Philippines, uprooting trees and causing power outages in many provinces.

As of 11 a.m. Friday, PAGASA estimated Yolanda to have decreased in strength slightly at 215 kph as it made its way across Cebu. The typhoon was heading north-northwest towards Panay, Mindoro, and ultimately northern Palawan before it is expected to exit Saturday afternoon.

“Impassable na lahat ng kalsada sa entire province, marami nang evacuation, marami nang bahay (ang nasira), natumba ang mga puno, wala nang ilaw, total blackout at malakas ang alon sa dagat. Talagang please inform everybody under the path of Yolanda, don’t underestimate,” said Governor Mercado.

NDRRMC spokesman Major Rey Balido told GMA News that power had been cut in Eastern Visayas provinces by electric companies as a pre-emptive measure, as trees were expected to topple on electricity cables. Residents are also reporting that cell phone signals were down across many areas in the Visayas, including Bohol.

Pre-emptive evacuation

Mercado said Yolanda started lashing their province around 4:30 a.m. and became even stronger around 9 a.m.

He said it was a good thing they were able to prepare early, as he expressed optimism that there will be zero casualties in their province.

“Meron kaming pre-emptive evacuation at preparations na nakamenos sa aming damage. Maganda ang (nangyari) at mabuti naka-prepara tayo,” he said.

He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development initially provided 800 food packs but he thinks this will not be enough for the evacuees.

The governor said they were able to evacuate residents in coastal communities.

“Malakas ang alon ng dagat. Buti low tide at na-evacuate na lahat ng informal settlers along the coast line. Nasa evacuation center na sa multi-purpose center sa syudad. Ang provincial disaster manager lagi nag-iinspeksyon,” he said.

Typhoon alerts

Storm signal No. 4, the highest possible warning from Pagasa, was raised in the following areas that are expected to experience winds stronger than 185 kph in the next 12 hours:

LUZON:

- Southern Occidental Mindoro

- Southern Oriental Mindoro

- Romblon

- Calamian Group of Island

- Masbate

VISAYAS:

- Northern Cebu including Cebu City and Bantayan Island

- Northern Negros Occidental

- Aklan

- Capiz

- Antique

- Iloilo

- Guimaras

Signal No. 3, with winds from 101 to 185 kph in the next 18 hours, was hoisted over the following areas:

LUZON:

- Rest of Occidental Mindoro

- Rest of Oriental Mindoro

- Burias Island

- Sorsogon

- Marinduque

- Ticao Island

- Northern Palawan including Puerto Princesa City

VISAYAS:

- Northern Samar

- Eastern Samar

- Samar

- Leyte

- Southern Leyte

- Bohol

- Rest of Cebu

- Negros Oriental

- Rest of Negros Occidental

- Camotes Island

- Biliran Province

MINDANAO:

- Dinagat Province

Metro Manila and other parts of the country are under Signal No. 2, with estimated winds between 61 to 100 kph and moderate rainfall in the next 24 hours:

LUZON:

- Bataan

- Metro Manila

- Rizal

- Cavite

- Laguna

- Batangas

- Southern Quezon

- Camarines Sur

- Lubang Island

- Rest of Palawan

- Albay

VISAYAS:

- Siquijor

MINDANAO:

- Surigao del Norte including Siargao

- Camiguin

Meanwhile, Signal No. 1 was raised in the following areas, which are expected to experience 30-60 kph winds in the next 36 hours:

LUZON:

- Pampanga

- Zambales

- Bulacan

- Camarines Norte

- Rest of Quezon including Polilio Island

- Catanduanes

MINDANAO:

- Surigao del Sur

- Misamis Oriental

- Agusan del Norte

— with Amita Legaspi/RSJ/HS/YA, GMA News

Tags: typhoonyolanda, yolanda, weather