'Cruel' typhoon heads to Philippines
Philippines on alert for third major storm in month as Typhoon Lupit bears down on south-east Asian nation
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Authorities in the Philippines have begun evacuating people and stock-piling food in anticipation of Typhoon Lupit. |  |
Tuesday, 20, Oct 2009 03:31
By Matthew Champion.
The Philippines was on Tuesday bracing itself for a third major storm in a month as Typhoon Lupit strengthened off its northern coastline.
As well as 121mph (195kph) winds, the typhoon, whose Filipino name translates as 'cruel', brings misery to islanders reeling from tropical storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma.
The death-toll from the flooding and landslides caused by those storms, which left four-fifths of the capital Manila flooded, has already surpassed 858.
Officials have already indicated that relief operations are at a much more advanced stage for Lupit than they were for either of the other storms.
"These days we no longer have a problem convincing residents to evacuate," Loreto Espineli, police chief in Benguet province where 300 people died early this month, told the Associated Press news agency.
"We will force them to leave if they don't want to It is easier to evacuate people than to dig for bodies after a mudslide."
Experts have also warned of the 'perfect storm' brewing in terms of deadly waterborne diseases.
Dr Sean Keogh, from emergency relief organisation Merlin and who recently visited the region, said: "The standing water is creating the perfect conditions for diseases, such as dengue fever, transmitted by mosquitoes.
"Officials say that there will be a dengue fever outbreak in one to two weeks time. All of their predictions so far, including the one on the leptospirosis outbreak, have been correct. The water will not drain this side of Christmas, so the problem is ongoing."