Super Typhoon Mangkhut threatens Hong Kong after killing 25 in the Philippines


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Typhoon Mangkhut killed at least 25 people in the Philippines as it smashed homes and left behind torrents of floodwater, and is now on course to plough into China's coast.

The massive storm, considered this year's strongest, left key agricultural areas on Luzon island under water as its fierce winds tore trees from the ground and rains unleashed dozens of landslides.

Because communications and electricity were knocked out across much of the region where about five million people were in the typhoon's direct path, officials are still assessing the human and material cost.

In the northern town of Baggao, the storm collapsed houses, tore off roofs and downed power lines. Some roads were cut off by landslides and many remained submerged.

Farms across Luzon, which produces a large portion of the nation's rice and corn, were sitting under muddy floodwaters, their crops ruined just a month before harvest.

"We're already poor and then this (storm) happened to us. We have lost hope," 40-year-old Mary Anne Baril, whose corn and rice crops were spoiled in the storm, told AFP.

"We have no other means to survive," she said through tears.

More than 105,000 people fled their homes in the largely rural region.

Tthe National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council control centre in Metro Manila. AP Photo
Tthe National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council control centre in Metro Manila. AP Photo

An average of 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines each year, killing hundreds of people and leaving millions in near-perpetual poverty.

The dead included many killed in landslides, a girl who drowned and a security guard crushed by a falling wall. In addition to the 25 killed in the Philippines, a woman was swept out to sea in Taiwan.

Mangkhut has weakened since blasting into the Philippine coast on Saturday, but was packing sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour as it hurtled toward China's heavily populated southern coast.

Rain and strong winds lashed Hong Kong on Sunday morning as the storm approached.

The city's observatory warned that Mangkhut would pass 100 kilometres south of Hong Kong at around midday (0400 GMT) local time as it raised the storm alert to its highest level.

Water levels in the famous Victoria Harbour and fishing villages could surge by up to four metres, authorities said, and hundreds of residents have been evacuated to storm shelters as the observatory forecast severe flooding for low-lying areas.

Shop windows were taped up and the normally traffic-clogged streets were deserted as the storm drew nearer.

The government has warned people to stay indoors but some were strolling in the park or along the waterfront Sunday morning.

"I went running this morning. I love fresh air and there's no one on the streets, no cars. On normal days we can't see this," said Hao Chen, 28, who lives in the neighbourhood of Tin Hau, on Hong Kong Island.

Some residents reported their buildings were swaying in the wind and parks were already strewn with broken branches by the early morning.

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Resident Antony Kwok in the fishing village of Tai O said flood shields and ladders had been set up to protect those who live in the area's stilt houses as waters began to rise, in a post on Facebook Live.

Almost all flights in and out of Hong Kong have been cancelled.

In the neighbouring gambling enclave of Macau, all 42 casinos shut late Saturday night and businesses were shuttered Sunday morning, some boarded up and protected by piles of sandbags.

Authorities warned of flooding around midday local time when waters could reach 2.5 metres above road level.

The government and casinos are taking extra precautions after Macau was battered by Typhoon Hato last year, which left 12 dead.

Preparations were in high gear on China's southern coast, including in Yangjiang, which is not often hit by major typhoons and where the city's 2.4 million people were bracing for a direct hit.

Further down the coast preparations were also underway in Zhanjiang, where some villagers feared for the worst.

"I couldn't sleep last night, I saw the typhoon on television and how intense it was," said 55-year-old Chan Yau Lok.

Typhoon tracker

In pictures: a typhoon approaches

What they say

"The weather here is still good but we're moving people now because it's very important that when it comes, people will be away from peril." - Cagayan Govenor Manuel Mamba 

"I worry especially for houses made of light materials." Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco 

"Among all the typhoons this year, this one is the strongest. This is a violent typhoon. It has the strongest sustained wind." Hiroshi Ishihara, meteorologist with the Japan Meteorological Agency

"We are not just looking at floods. It could generate a storm surge upon landfall." Vicente Malano of Philippine weather agency PAGASA

A member of the Philippine Air Force stands in front of a satellite image of Typhoon Mangkhut. AP Photo
A member of the Philippine Air Force stands in front of a satellite image of Typhoon Mangkhut. AP Photo

Typhoon season

Mangkhut, a Thai word for the mangosteen fruit, is the 15th storm this year to batter the Philippines, which is hit by about 20 a year.

The archipelago is considered one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.

Typhoon Haiyan left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and displaced over five million in the central Philippines in 2013.

Mangkhut struck at the start of the rice and corn harvesting season in Cagayan and farmers scrambled to save what they could of their crops. The threat to agriculture comes as the Philippines tries to cope with rice shortages.

As the storm approached, President Rodrigo Duterte cancelled his appearance at a missile test firing aboard a navy ship off northern Bataan province and instead led a meeting with disaster-response agencies and defence officials in Manila.

Mangkut's path so far

On Guam, where Mangkhut has passed, residents woke up on Tuesday to flooded streets, downed trees and widespread power outages. Government agencies were conducting damage assessments and beginning to clear roads, according to the Pacific Daily News.

About 80 per cent of the US territory was without power but it was restored by Thursday morning.

Emergency supplies were carried on the world's largest plane - the Antonov AN-255 - from Moffett Field, California on Wednesday.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:

Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.

Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.

Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.

Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.

Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.

Saraya Al Khorasani:  The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.

(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)

Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs

A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.

The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.

Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.

Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.

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