Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Philippines has stockpiled emergency supplies and put rescue teams on a standby in preparation for Typhoon Lupit, which is expected to hit the country by Wednesday. It comes only weeks after several other typhoons, which killed almost a thousand people and displaced millions.

The government weather service announced that the outer areas of the storm could affect Luzon, the country’s main island, and have winds up to 175 kilometres per hour.

Lupit’s eye remained in the same area for several hours on Sunday, about 1,000 kilometres from the eastern shores of Luzon; however, meteorologists predict the storm could move closer to the Philippines.

A weather service chief said that areas vulnerable to flooding should be evacuated. “Those in critical areas should be evacuated now that there is still time. It would be more difficult to rescue people in the middle of a typhoon,” said Prisco Nilo.