‘Ramil’ revs up, to hit N. Luzon Friday

10/23/2009

After hovering just off the north coast of the country earlier yesterday, erratic typhoon “Ramil” accelerated in a span of six hours, now aiming to hit Northern Luzon Friday morning, one day ahead of its forecast landfall.

“Ramil will make a landfall tomorrow morning in Aparri, Cagayan,” Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) chief Prisco Nilo yesterday said.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the eye of Ramil was spotted 180 km east of Aparri, Cagayan, with maximum winds of 160 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 195 kph.

Ramil maintained a quasi-stationary position Wednesday night and early

Thursday but accelerated Thursday afternoon following the northward shift of the high pressure area (HPA) in Hong Kong, Nilo said.

The HPA gave way to Ramil to move southwest, he stressed.

It will stay over land, and dump rains for 12 hours. Hence, residents in Regions I, II, III and some areas in IV-A are warned against possible landslides and flash floods, Nilo said.

Ramil is expected to weaken when it hits parts of Sierra Madre mountain ranges in Northern Luzon, Nilo said.

The typhoon will cross Ilocos Norte by Friday night and out of the country by Sunday, he added.

The National Disaster Coordinating Council, for its part, said soldiers and paramedics had been deployed on the north coast with rescue boats, trucks and emergency supplies in place in case evacuations were necessary.

Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has pledged the agency’s full support to the Philippines as the government and tens of thousands of Filipinos seek to deal with the effects of the violent storms that devastated parts of the country last month.

“WFP is here to support the government’s efforts to help the people of the Philippines overcome this calamity. I have no doubt that together, we can,” Executive Director Josette Sheeran said as she began her three-day visit to the country.

Sheeran, together with President Arroyo and WFP’s National Ambassador Against Hunger and actress KC Concepcion, toured some of the hardest hit communities and helped distribute vital food rations.

“I travelled by boat in an area 65 kilometers north of Manila where I saw whole neighborhoods literally inundated with waist-high stagnant water, and met people who have lost all of their belongings – furniture, clothes, food – and are now receiving vital help from the Philippine government and humanitarian agencies like WFP,” she said.

As part of the UN’s humanitarian response, WFP is providing food relief and logistics support with helicopters, trucks, boats and telecommunications equipment to reach and connect to isolated areas.

The agency is initially providing critical food to more than one million of the eight million people affected by the floods. It is also coordinating with national authorities to ensure a seamless transition from emergency relief to recovery.

Sheeran voiced her confidence that the country and its people will overcome this calamity.

the World Health Organization (WHO) also yesterday said the Philippines is seeking international help to fight a deadly outbreak of an infectious disease following two devastating tropical storms.

Department of Health (DoH) officials said leptospirosis, a bacterial infection, has infected 1,963 persons and killed 148 of them.

The outbreak occurred in areas of Manila which remains flooded nearly four weeks after Ondoy struck the capital on Sept. 26.

A WHO statement said Manila has “requested for a Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network mission to provide assistance in the management of the outbreak of Leptospirosis as a result of the continued exposure of affected populations to floodwaters.”

The WHO regional office in Manila said it is now “processing orders for Leptospirosis rapid diagnostic test kits.”

The DoH earlier ordered 1.3 million people to take antibiotics to bolster their natural defenses against disease.

According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque, the outbreak had overwhelmed government hospitals, many of which had also suffered substantial damage from the flooding. Michaela P. del Callar, PNA and AFP

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