Manila // Typhoon Parma barrelled its way across the northern Philippines yesterday, leaving a trail of destruction and three reported deaths in its wake. Winds of up to 175kph slammed the northern province of Cagayan on the main island of Luzon in the afternoon after taking an unexpected turn earlier in the day. The Philippines weather bureau had expected the typhoon to make landfall further south.
In Manila, where the clean-up operation was continuing after last weekend's tropical storm dumped more than a month's rain - 117mm - on the metropolis of 12 million in just six hours, there was a collective sigh of relief despite intermittent rain throughout the day. There were concerns earlier that if the typhoon had followed its original course it would have meant further flooding in the capital. Strong winds and driving rain pounded the sparsely populated province as Typhoon Parma made its way inland towards Mountain province.
Sally Jatias, the supervisor at the Hotel Lorita in Tuguegarao City, the capital of Cagayan, said that gusts of wind bent trees and "ripped some from the ground". "I have lived here for 25 years and seen a lot of typhoons and this is big," Ms Jatias said. "Power in the city had been knocked out earlier in the day, but we have a generator and we have people staying - we are safe. The hotel has seen a lot of typhoons."
Up in the mountains in Sagada, Singrid Bangyay, 30, said: "There are no evacuations. It is windy and raining, but it is not strong. I expect that will happen later. The problem for us is that once the roads are cut, and during typhoons they are, we will be cut off for at least two to three days." Mr Bangyay said the biggest worry in the mountain region was landslides. According to civil defence officials, one man was swept away by a strong current while trying to cross a river in San Mariano, a town in Isabela province, and another died from hypothermia.
Over the past three days, thousands of people along the northern Luzon seaboard have been forced to leave low-lying areas for higher ground to avoid a repeat of September 26 and 27, when the government was criticised for being unprepared. At least one army battalion comprising 500 troops arrived in Cagayan yesterday to help with the evacuations. Many people could not be reached, however, as several roads were blocked.
Aileen Torres, an administrator of the Philippine National Red Cross in Cagayan, told local television that Cagayan province was in "chaos". "Trees are down, power lines down, power cut and many homes destroyed," she said. Susan Espinueva, the head of the weather bureau's hydro meteorological services, said only areas in Rizal, Laguna and Marikina were in danger of experiencing higher levels of floodwaters as Laguna de Bay and the Marikina river overflowed.
Laguna Lake Development Authority said last weekend that the lake, south of Manila, was set to break its 90-year record, threatening to submerge more areas in Metro Manila and several nearby provinces. No one in the authority would comment officially and a number of dams around Manila continued to release water yesterday. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the president, declared a state of calamity on Friday as she ordered pre-emptive evacuations in areas along the eastern seaboard of northern Luzon, Mountain province and La Union.
No figures were available on how many people had been evacuated, but it is expected to be more than 100,000. Last month, the tropical storm Ketsana caused devastation across South East Asia, killing 293 people in the Philippines before striking Vietnam, where it had gained speed and become a typhoon. It claimed 17 lives in Cambodia. Details were also emerging from Laos, where the Red Cross said Ketsana had killed 24.
* The National, with additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
