Typhoon Xangsane

Landfall | Summary
Posting Date: September 27, 2006, 12:00:00 PM

Super Typhoon Xangsane, the 18th named storm of the Pacific tropical cyclone season, is currently crossing the Philippines with sustained winds of 232 km/h with gusts to 276 km/h. The typhoon, locally known as Milenyo, made landfall on the Bicol peninsula in the central Philippine province of Samar at 00:00 GMT on September 27 as a typhoon, with sustained winds of 168 km/h and gusts to 202 km/h. Xangsane is moving west across the Philippines at 13 km/h, and is expected to sweep over the capital, Manila, on Thursday night. Schools in the capital and 5 provinces have been suspended, and the city's alert level has been raised. Authorities at Manila's air- and seaports are waiting to assess the storm's strength before deciding whether to shut down. This is the first severe cyclone to pass near Manila since Angela made a direct hit with winds of 120 km/h in 1995. Disaster management officials are warning residents of the potential for flash floods and landslides. The storm has stranded approximately 3,500 ferry passengers at 10 ports around Bicol and eastern Visayas. Some flights have been grounded. While no casualties have been reported, 100 families in a village about 390 km south of Manila have been trapped in their homes by floodwaters triggered by Xangsane. Residents near the slopes of the active Mayon volcano in central Albay province are being warned to stay out of the volcano's 8-km exclusion zone for fear of landslides triggered by Xangsane's winds. This storm has intensified quickly and unexpectedly over the last 24 hours. A tropical storm yesterday, Xangsane was expected to hit the Philippines as a Category 1 storm at worst. While land effects will begin to weaken the storm over the next 24 hours, Xangsane is expected to restrengthen once it crosses into the South China Sea. A high pressure cell over mainland China is pushing the storm westward rather than northwestward. If it holds to its current track, it should make a second landfall in Vietnam by early next week. The AIR tropical cyclone team is closely monitoring the progress of this storm. Additional information will be posted once Xangsane has passed Manila.

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Posting Date: September 27, 2006, 12:00:00 PM