Updated on October 21, 2015: Death toll rises above 35, thousands left homeless
Typhoon Koppu made landfall in the Philippines on Sunday morning, leaving more than 35 dead and thousands displaced. The typhoon has caused massive destructions and its deadly impact is likely to persist for days. Koppu also known as Lando, brought torrential rains in the last few days.
Though Koppu was downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday, it still remains a deadly threat to the archipelago. The centre of the storm is now situated north of mainland Luzon, thereby threatening northern regions of that island like Ilocos, Cagayan Valley and the Cordillera.
The video above will give you a glimpse of the aftermath of Typhoon Koppu.
Updated on October 19, 2015: The slow moving destructive typhoon Koppu has killed at least two people. Not only this, six people have also been reported missing after the typhoon drenched the Philippines Island. More than 15,000 people fled from their homes as flooding rain affected the island nation.
Rescue teams have been deployed to help people who were trapped on their rooftops. People in nine provinces have been left without power. Farmlands of residents have been converted to nothing but mud. The typhoon has now weakened to some extent, however, the storm is expected to keep flooding the area with heavy rain as it lingers over Philippines till Wednesday.
After leaving the Luzon Islands devastated, Koppu will now inch towards Taiwan. Koppu is the 12th storm to hit Philippines this year. However, the effects have been less as compared to Typhoon Haiyan of 2013, which had left more than 7000 people dead.
Updated on October 18, 2015: Typhoon Koppu has battered the northern Philippines coast giving heavy to extremely heavy rain over the region. The slow but devastating typhoon has made landfall in the Luzon Island on Sunday morning. The typhoon is likely to bring flooding rains and cause landslides over the area for about three days. The eye of the storm has been moving west at 3 km/hr.
Around 10,000 people have been displaced in the Luzon island area, however, no casualties have been reported yet. In the north of Manila, many trees were uprooted. Also, the sea front at the Manila bay was affected due to strong winds. Many homes were destroyed along with power lines being disrupted. Right before the typhoon hit Philippines, around 6500 people were evacuated safely from their homes.
The strong typhoon Koppu is likely to linger for two to three days over the Luzon Islands, which is home to about half the population of Philippines. The northern parts of the nation will continue to receive flooding rain. Thereafter, the typhoon is expected to hit Taiwan.
Updated on October 16, 2015: Tropical storm Koppu has now become a typhoon and is presently between Guam and the Philippines. The current indications suggest that Koppu will be quite far away from Manila and the capital city of the Philippines will be able to escape the devastating impacts of the typhoon. However, the possibility of heavy rain cannot be ruled out.
Flash flooding is likely in many areas of the Philippines as Koppu approaches Luzon. Other countries including Japan, Taiwan as well as East China are also on high alert. The effects in Taiwan will increase as Koppu pulls to the north. Some parts of Japan may receive heavy rain as well by late next week.
Updated on October 15, 2015: Tropical storm Koppu, has now intensified slightly and is moving westward as mentioned by Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). The storm packed sustained winds of 75 kmph gusting at 90 kmph.
The storm is presently moving away from Guam and is moving towards Luzon. The storm could not take much advantage of the warm waters of the Pacific due to the disruptive wind shear. However, as Koppu is expected to approach Luzon by the weekend, rapid intensification is likely.
The tropical storm is likely to become a typhoon, equal to a Category 4 hurricane. The storm will slow down significantly after the rapid intensification. Over the weekend, torrential rains are expected over Northern Luzon Islands of around 300 mm to 600 mm.
Some areas in the Philippines are expected to receive rainfall as much as 900 mm. These heavy rains may result in mudslides and flooding over the affected areas.
Meanwhile, tropical storm Champi, has intensified into a typhoon equivalent to a category 3 hurricane. The storm is the 25th typhoon of this year. The storm has a radius of around 120 km and is moving in a west-northwesterly direction about 800 km east of Saipan.
The residents of Saipan have been advised to exercise caution as the storm may bring extremely heavy rain over Saipan over the weekend.
Updated on October 14, 2015: Tropical storm Koppu has set its eyes on Philippines and is expected to hit the county during weekend. Japan and Taiwan have been advised to be on alert of possible impacts.
Koppu is currently enduring strong wind shear but it will go through it. After this there will be rapid intensification while it travels through the Philippine Sea.
Parts of Luzon Islands would be at risk of flooding rains, destructive winds and very rough seas this weekend. The severity and duration of this storm would depend on the proximity of Koppu to Philippines and the speed of its movement at that time. According to current indications Koppu is expected to slow down or stall on Friday and then turn northwards. Since Koppu is expected to slow down or stall near Philippines there is major threat of flooding rain and mudslides. If the center of the typhoon comes closeer to the Island then several days of damaging winds is possible. Based on the indication, Manila is expected to escape the wrath of the storm.
The impact of Koppu will not only be confined to Philippines but Taiwan and Japanese island of Ryukyu will also bear its brunt early next week with damaging winds.
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