Rappler Newscast | November 8, 2013

Today on Rappler.

• Monster winds and giant waves from typhoon Yolanda — international name Haiyan — batter Central Philippines.
• At least 4 senators want their pork barrel deleted from the 2014 budget.
• Hong Kong lawmakers vote to scrap Filipinos’ visa-free access.

Story 1: YOLANDA BRINGS MONSTER WINDS, GIANT WAVES
The most powerful storm of the year hits the Philippines Friday, bringing monster winds and giant waves as it barrels through Eastern Visayas.
US-based Weather Underground says the strength of the wind makes super typhoon Yolanda — international name Haiyan — one of the four most powerful typhoons ever recorded in the world, and the most powerful to have made landfall.
More than 125,000 people in the most vulnerable areas were moved to evacuation centers before Yolanda hit.
State weather bureau Pagasa says the typhoon is located 147 km west of Roxas City.
It has maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 250 km/h.
Storm signal number 4 is up over Aklan, Capiz, Antique, Iloilo, Guimaras, extreme northern Palawan, Calamian Islands, Southern Occidental Mindoro, and Southern Oriental Mindoro.
Signal number 3 is up over the rest of the Mindoro provinces, Romblon, rest of northern Palawan, and Puerto Princesa City.
Signal number 2 is up over Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Cebu, Biliran, Lubang Island, Batangas, Marinduque, The rest of Palawan, and Masbate.
Signal number 1 is up over Camiguin, Surigao del Norte, Dinagat, Eastern Samar, Samar, Northern Samar, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Camotes Island, Bohol, Siquijor, Metro Manila, Bataan, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon.
The typhoon first smashed into the coastal communities of Samar and Leyte.
It is expected to leave the Philippine area of responsibility Saturday morning.
Landslides threaten 41 barangays in Region IV-B or 5 provinces in southern Luzon as the typhoon makes its way to Busuanga, Palawan, southern part of Mindoro and other parts of southern Luzon.
The threatened barangays are spread out across Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, and Palawan.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council or NDRRMC reports at least two people were electrocuted by power lines toppled by the typhoon, while a third victim was struck by lightning.
At least seven people are injured.
More than 140,000 families or 700,000 people are affected across 29 provinces.
In Dinagat, strong winds uproot trees and take down shanties along the shores.
Early Friday, the island province experienced storm surges of up to 4 feet.
About 2,000 families are staying in evacuation centers after residents of coastal villages were ordered to leave their homes ahead of the typhoon.
Storm surges flood Tacloban City in Leyte, with low-lying areas hit hard.
Pagasa warns storm surges may go up to 15 ft in the city.
On Thursday, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin arrived in the city to supervise government response there.
In Surigao del Norte, at least 5 houses are destroyed as the typhoon battered the province.
More than 28,000 residents take shelter in different evacuation centers.
In Bohol, at least 15 people are rescued from 2 cargo barges docked at Guindulman Port after strong waves outbalance the barges.
The 2 barges, loaded with limestone, left Garcia Hernandez Port in Bohol but were forced to seek shelter because of the typhoon.
One crew member remains missing.
The typhoon cuts off communication lines in at least 5 areas: Eastern Samar, Palo, Leyte; Tacloban City, Leyte; Pacific and Panaon in Southern Leyte, and Biliran.
Power interruptions hit many areas.
The provinces of Samar, Leyte, Cebu and Bohol as well as the islands of Panay and Negros are off the grid.
The National Grid Corporation is working to return electricity to areas experiencing blackouts.
The typhoon forces the cancellation of flights, as several airports shut down.
The social welfare department allots P53.24 million for relief operations.

Story 2: YOLANDA GOES ‘ISLAND HOPPING,’ MAKES 5 LANDFALLS
Typhoon Yolanda hits land in the Philippines 5 times, described by Pagasa’s officer in charge Vicente Malano as “island hopping.”
The Philippines gets an average of 20 typhoons every year.
But they usually hit land, make one landfall and then slow down as they move away.
In the case of Yolanda, Malano says the super typhoon hit the island provinces of the Visayas and gathered more “energy” as it hit waters in between.
Pagasa says a possible 6th landfall may happen in Calamian Group of Islands located at the northern tip of Palawan if the track doesn’t change.

Story 3: #YOLANDAPH: HELP MAP CRITICAL REPORTS FOR PROJECT AGOS
Help report critical information like flooding, road damage, or those who need rescue using Rappler’s Project Agos disaster information map.
Tweet @MovePH or post on the MovePH Facebook page to report a person in need of rescue or flooding in your areas.
You can also submit direct reports on the map.
Rappler will monitor this information and alert local authorities. 

Story 4: SOME OF PH’S POOREST PROVINCES ALONG YOLANDA’S PATH
A study by the Manila Observatory says some of the Philippines’ poorest provinces are in the path of the super typhoon.
In their November 7 technical report, the research institute says the provinces of Northern Samar, Masbate, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Antique are most vulnerable because of their high poverty incidence.
Bohol is still reeling from the effects of a magnitude 7.2 earthquake last month.
The report says poverty in the provinces will affect disaster prevention measures and relief and recovery.
More than 5 million people live in the 10 poor provinces directly along Typhoon Yolanda’s path.

Story 5: AT LEAST 4 SENATORS WANT THEIR PDAF DELETED IN BUDGET
At least 4 senators want their Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF deleted from the 2014 budget.
Senators Koko Pimentel, Grace Poe, Franklin Drilon, and Chiz Escudero want the P200 million allotted to each of them deducted from the budget instead of being realigned to 4 government agencies.
Senators agreed to take an individual position on the abolition of the PDAF.
In a press statement Friday, Escudero says 8 senators, including himself and Drilon, submitted letters to his committee.
Escudero says the individual positions of the senators will be turned into an amendment to the House version of the budget.
Calls for the abolition of the PDAF snowballed after the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam was exposed.
In response, the President announced an overhauled PDAF will replace the current system.

Story 6: HK TO SCRAP VISA-FREE ACCESS FOR FILIPINOS?
The South China Morning Post reports Hong Kong lawmakers voted 41-3 to remove Filipinos’ visa-free access to Hong Kong.
The same report says lawmakers also passed a non-binding motion to “impose sanctions on the [Philippines].”
The votes come after Hong Kong’s chief executive Leung Chun-ying threatened sanctions against the Philippines if it does not take “concrete steps” to address victims’ concerns over the 2010 Manila hostage incident.
Hong Kong lawmaker Wong Kwok-kin says the non-binding motion will not necessarily become law, but it –quote– “[exerts] pressure not only on the Hong Kong government but also the Philippines.”
Victims of the hostage incident demand an apology, compensation, punishment for officials involved and improved tourist safety.
They have already rejected an apology from Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada.
Philippine Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma downplays the move, saying the Philippines’ stand “remains the same.”
He adds, “Both sides are working quietly to address these concerns and reach a mutually satisfactory conclusion.” 

Story 7: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 6, the US Senate on Thursday passes the gay rights bill for workers.
Voting 64 to 32, the Senate votes to include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the country’s non-discrimination law.
Though the New York Times calls it “a bipartisan show of support that is rare for any social issue,” the bill is still expected to face stiff opposition in the House.

At number 7, US regulators take steps to ban trans fat from processed foods, saying the artery-clogging oils are not safe for humans to eat.
The US Food and Drug Administration says its findings are based on “available scientific evidence and the findings of expert scientific panels.”
If the decision is made final, partially hydrogenated oils would be considered food additives and could not be used in food unless regulators authorized it.
Consumer groups hail the move as a major step to eliminate a type of fat blamed for heart disease.

At number 9, the US economy grows 2.8% in the third quarter, surprising analysts who expected the world’s largest economy to grow by only 1.9%.
Analysts forecast a weaker fourth quarter after a Washington budget battle forced a government shutdown in October, which cut an estimated $24 billion from the economy.
Scott Hoyt of Moody’s Analytics warns the shutdown will cut a half percentage point of growth in the fourth quarter.

And at number 10, Twitter hits Wall Street with a bang Thursday as an investor frenzy quickly sent shares surging.
In the first exchanges, Twitter vaulted 80.7% to $47, a day after the initial public offering at $26 per share.
Twitter offered 70 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange, generating $1.82 billion, and gave underwriters an option to buy an additional 10.5 million shares.
The IPO assigned a market value of around $14.4 billion to the company.

– Rappler.com

Newscast Production Staff