Mashable reports as typhoon Hagupit hits the Phillipines:
Typhoon Hagupit, which was once the strongest typhoon of the year, made its first of possibly six landfalls as of 10:15 a.m. ET (9:15 a.m., local time) near the northern edge of the Philippine island of Samar, close to the community of Dolores. The storm is the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of about 125 miles per hour.
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While Typhoon Hagupit, which is also known as Typhoon Ruby in the Philippines, is nowhere near the intensity of Haiyan, its slow forward speed of about 13 miles per hour poses a different threat: flooding. Tropical storms and typhoons can dump incredible amounts of rainfall and rain totals with Hagupit may exceed 2 feet in some places, particularly where winds blow up the slope of mountains, since this can enhance rainfall in a process known as orographic lifting.
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Evacuations have been underway since Thursday for parts of Samar, including the city of Tacloban, which Haiyan severely damaged. International aid organizations, from Heifer International to the Red Cross, already have large teams on the ground in Samar that have been assisting with evacuations. They have also been preparing to undertake relief operations once dangerous storm conditions abate. However, It does not appear that Tacloban is taking the brunt of the storm.
Coastal areas of northern Samar are being warned to prepare for a storm surge of 15 feet.
To read more about the changing world and what you can do to prepare, visit: www.greatwavesofchange.org
