Typhoon Frank Bears Down on Manila

[weatherbud]

MANILA, Philippines--(UPDATE) Typhoon Frank (international code name: Fengshen) has maintained its strength and its eye was located 90 kilometers southeast of Metro Manila (13.9°N 121.5°E) in the latest bulletin issued by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), the state weather bureau.

In its 5 a.m. update, Pagasa said Frank was forecast to move north northwest at 15 kilometers per hour and had maximum winds of 120 kph and gustiness of up to 150 kph.

By Monday morning, Frank is expected to be 70 kilometers northwest of Baguio City and 260 kilometers west southwest of Basco, Batanes by Tuesday. By Wednesday, it is expected to be 330 kilometers northwest of Basco, Batanes.

LIST OF AFFECTED AREAS

Typhoon death toll set to rise after ferry capsize

A group of 28 ferry passengers and crew washed ashore after drifting at sea for more than a day from the site where a typhoon capsized their ship and left most of the hundreds aboard missing and presumed dead, officials said Monday.

Manila's DZBB radio said the survivors, 20 male passengers, four women and four crewmen, drifted at sea for more than 24 hours wearing their lifejackets, reaching Mulanay township in eastern Quezon province late Sunday. Coast guard chief Vice Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo announced early Monday that they had been found, raising the total number of survivors to 38. All were discovered after making it to land.

Tamayo said rescuers may have to bore a hole in the ship to allow divers access to area where many aboard the ferry were believed to have been trapped.

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Typhoon death toll reaches 229 in Philippines

The past weekend marked one of the darkest dates in the Philippines' natural disaster-battering history, with reports of floods, landslides, flooded streets and a sunken ship with over 700 passengers on board. The country's Red Cross and disaster relief authorities on Sunday night announced that at least 229 people have been killed, 700 others missing as typhoon "Fengshen" ripped through the archipelago since Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) on Sunday morning reported that floods, storm surge, and landslides have affected 366,444 people, of which, 70,717 are in evacuation centers. According to the disaster relief agency, 229 people were confirmed dead in typhoon-caused accidents. Electricity, telephone lines and mobile phone signals were cut off in many parts of the archipelagic state, including capital Metro Manila. The storm has stranded 5,095 passengers, 288 rolling cargo, 90 trucks, 59 passenger buses, 48 small vehicles, and eight sea vessels, the NDCC said.

Packing sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 150 kilometers per hour, the typhoon entered the Philippines from the eastern Samar island on Friday. It shifted course Sunday to the northwest and battered Manila at dawn, dumping heavy rain on the capital.

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