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               At Least 1 Dead as Typhoon Koppu Hits Philippines

   by Simone Orendain

   Typhoon Koppu hit the northern Philippines early Sunday, downing power
   and communication lines with powerful winds, leaving at least one
   person dead and six others missing, while displacing 16,000 villagers,
   officials said.

   Army troops and police were deployed to rescue residents trapped in
   flooded villages in the hard-hit provinces of Aurora, where the
   typhoon, packing wind gusts up to 185 kph (115 mph), blew ashore early
   Sunday, and Nueva Ecija, a nearby rice-growing province where
   floodwaters swamped farmlands at harvest time, officials said.

   After slamming into Aurora's Casiguran town after midnight Saturday,
   the typhoon spanning 600 kilometers (372 miles) weakened and slowed
   considerably, hemmed in by the Sierra Madre mountain range and a high
   pressure area in the country's north and another typhoon far out in the
   Pacific in the east, government forecaster Gladys Saludes said.

   Moving at just 5 kph, Typhoon Koppu, known locally as Typhoon Lando, is
   expected to exit the island Thursday, instead of Tuesday, state
   Forecaster Manny Mendoza said Sunday.

   ''Forecasters predict the storm could dump 600 millimeters (23 inches)
   of rain over the next several days, causing flash flooding and
   landslides.

   The storm is blamed in at least one death Sunday, after a teenager was
   pinned to death by a fallen tree. The accident left four others injured
   and three houses damaged in suburban Quezon city in the Manila
   metropolis.

   A man was electrocuted in northern Tarlac province and two bodies were
   seen being swept by floodwaters in Nueva Ecija, but authorities were
   trying to determine whether those were typhoon-related deaths.

   Three fishermen were reported missing in northern Bataan province,
   along with three other men in Aurora's Baler town, according to the
   Office of Civil Defense.

   'Slowed almost to a crawl'

   Civil Defense Office Head Alexander Pama said Koppu "has slowed almost
   to a crawl. We're hoping it would speed up and spare us sooner."

   Pama said more than 20,000 people have been moved to evacuation
   centers.

   In addition, Pama said the government is "strongly recommending" the
   evacuation of residents in the Crodillera region, especially villages
   that are landslide-and-flood-prone.

   Authorities canceled flights and local officials conducted "forced
   evacuations" of coastal areas and river banks known to be hit by floods
   and landslides to minimize loss of life.

   The storm had weakened slightly to gusts of 185 kph (115 mph).

   ''

   Koppu is not expected to hit the capital, Manila, directly. It will
   instead likely sweep across the northern end of Luzon.

   Power company workers are trying to restore electricity to at least 24
   municipalities in the northeast and the military has started clearing
   operations on major roads and bridges.

   Storm warning

   President Benigno Aquino on Friday appeared on national television to
   warn residents about the storm.

   "It is clear, your government is here in order to ensure that we will
   meet our goal of zero casualties. But I must emphasize, each local
   government unit, community, and Filipino that will be affected has the
   duty to cooperate in the collective action we are taking to overcome
   the challenges ahead," Aquino said.

   It is the first time Aquino has issued a nationally televised warning
   about a typhoon since November 2013 when Typhoon Haiyan swept through
   the country, leaving more than 7,000 people dead or missing.

   About 20 typhoons and storms hit the Philippines each year, many of
   them deadly.

   Some material for this report came from AP, AFP and Reuters.
     __________________________________________________________________

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   .html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/typhooon-koppu-in-philippines/3012401.html