Given that Super Typhoon Naul struck the Philippines last May, it is unfortunate that such a disaster is occurring again so soon. Already, there has been at least one confirmed death, several missing persons, and thousands of relocations as people have been forced to flee their homes.
According to the BBC, Typhoon Koppu first made landfall at the town of Casiguran on the island of Luzon on the morning of Sunday, October 18. Its initial recorded wind speeds were a devastating 200km/h (124 mph). Floods and landslides have already been triggered, and officials fear an onset of heavy rains for the next several days. Ferry and bus services have thus been cancelled due to the constant threat of flooding and landslides.
Unfortunately for the Philippines, Typhoon Koppu is slow-moving because it is one of two typhoons in the Pacific at present; Typhoon Champi resides just to the east. According to the BBC, the complex interaction between these two weather systems is resulting in a weather front that is "trapping" Koppu over the Philippines, instead of allowing it to turn away toward the South China Sea.
Typhoon Koppu is not expected to leave the Philippines until this Tuesday, when it will turn toward Taiwan.
For more on this story as it develops, please click the link below.
According to the BBC, Typhoon Koppu first made landfall at the town of Casiguran on the island of Luzon on the morning of Sunday, October 18. Its initial recorded wind speeds were a devastating 200km/h (124 mph). Floods and landslides have already been triggered, and officials fear an onset of heavy rains for the next several days. Ferry and bus services have thus been cancelled due to the constant threat of flooding and landslides.
Unfortunately for the Philippines, Typhoon Koppu is slow-moving because it is one of two typhoons in the Pacific at present; Typhoon Champi resides just to the east. According to the BBC, the complex interaction between these two weather systems is resulting in a weather front that is "trapping" Koppu over the Philippines, instead of allowing it to turn away toward the South China Sea.
Typhoon Koppu is not expected to leave the Philippines until this Tuesday, when it will turn toward Taiwan.
For more on this story as it develops, please click the link below.