Environment

Typhoon Chan-hom Kills At Least 25 in Philippines

by TyphoonHunter | May 8, 2009 at 07:25 am

381 views | 56 Recommendations | 7 comments

Typhoon Chan-hom slammed into the northwest of the Philippines yesterday killing at least 25 people according to local officials.

The AFP reports:

Among the worst-hit areas was the mountain town of Kiangan and nearby areas that were devastated by landslides, and the cape of Bolinao on the South China Sea coast that bore the full force of its landfall late Thursday.

"Bolinao -- well frankly speaking it's devastated," Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro told reporters in Manila after a helicopter overflight of the coastal region swamped with floods and littered with downed pylons.

Chan-hom killed 12 people in Bolinao and nearby towns, where strong winds knocked down houses, trees and electric posts, he added.

In the Cordillera mountain region northeast of Bolinao, a total of 12 villagers in four areas were crushed to death by large boulders that rolled down slopes in Kiangan and two other nearby towns on Thursday night, Olive Luces of the local civil defence office told AFP here.

The typhoon made landfall with sustained winds of over 85 miles per hour and brought torrential rains and high winds to the capital Manila and most of Luzon in the north of the Philippines.

Typhoon Chan-hom, which is a type of tree in the Lao language, was the second typhoon to form this year. Last week typhoon Kujira formed off the east coast of the Philippines and was responsible for at least 25 deaths.

Be sure to check back here for more updates as this situation develops....

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amyjudd

at 08:36 on May 8th, 2009

Thank you for this story - I hadn't heard it was 25 people.

Jarrett Martineau

at 08:41 on May 8th, 2009

Thanks for this.

JeffHuang

at 08:45 on May 8th, 2009

Typhoon season again....

Thanks for posting this

Babel-Fish

at 05:24 on May 10th, 2009

Typhoon season has come early its starts next month offically, but I am totally confused as it been a very rainy year so far, when is it summer?

TyphoonHunter

at 09:04 on May 10th, 2009

Hey Babel-Fish.

There is no official typhoon season however 95% of all storms in the NW Pacific occur after May 1st. The hurricane season in the Atlantic however starts on June 1st which is not far off at all!

Babel-Fish

at 19:24 on May 10th, 2009

oh I heard on telivision here in the philippines the rainy season starts in june, lol

Its really a joke and it would seem that filipinos have no clue about summer or winter, its one of the amusing things about this wonderful culture. Its actually rainy season when it rains and typhone season when a typhoon arrives. With every body having a differing opinion about winter and summer, lol

Its nice however when it sunny as it is today.

Ciska van Geer (not verified)

at 12:36 on May 16th, 2009

Friends of us live in Anda. Today we had a phonecall and got the message that their house is damaged and trees have fallen down. Water is not safe for drinking and there is no electricity. Life must go on.