Monday, July 30th 2012, 4:47 PM EDT
Four dead as Typhoon Gener lashes Philippines - gmanetwork.com
(Updated 1:21 a.m., July 31, 2012) At least four people were killed and millions were left without power Monday as Tropical Storm Gener turned into a typhoon, bringing heavy rains to large parts of the Philippines, the government said.
Manila was one of the worst hit areas and schools across the sprawling capital were suspended, largely due to flooding, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.
Nearly 13,000 people were evacuated in Manila, other parts of the main island of Luzon and the central Visayas region, as rainfall reached 20 millimeters (0.8 inches) an hour, according to the council.
"The worst appears to be over, though... there will be more rains forecast today," council chief Benito Ramos told AFP.....
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...."A strom cell"
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that as of 10 p.m., Gener was estimated at 240 km east northeast of Basco, Batanes, packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph.
“Gener” was moving north northwest at 7 kph and is forecast at 245 km northeast of Basco, Batanes, by Tuesday evening, it said. By Wednesday evening, it is expected to be 420 km north of Basco, Batanes.
By Thursday evening, PAGASA said “Gener” should be 640 km north northwest of Basco Batanes and outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR).
One person drowned in the central province of Antique, while the body of a man believed to be a fisherman lost at sea washed ashore in a coastal town south of Manila, NDRRMC’s Ramos said.
The coast guard meanwhile said one of 57 passengers aboard a ferry that sunk Sunday in rough seas in the central Philippines died of an apparent asthma attack while being rescued.
All the other people aboard were safe, it said.
“Gener” did not strike the Philippines directly but exacerbated rains from a low pressure area in the vicinity, weather forecasters said.
PAGASA weather forecaster Bernie De Leon told GMA News Online that Sunday night’s strong winds were not caused by “Gener,” but by a low pressure area that “started off Subic.”
De Leon said they were caught off-guard because of the speed of the LPA, which was supposed to develop in days rather than hours.
Within three to four hours, it moved to Bataan from Subic and on to Metro Manila and then to Quezon in the Sierra Madres before it vanished.
GMA News forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said during Monday on “State of the Nation” that Sunday’s strong winds were caused by a “storm cell” off the west coast of Luzon.
He described the storm cell as a cluster of clouds and winds, saying that it was an unusual weather disturbance that just suddenly appeared....Click source for FULL report
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