Mary Gilbert
Mon, September 26, 2022
The third super typhoon of the season, Noru, roared to life in the Philippine Sea this past weekend and unleashed torrential rainfall, damaging winds and deadly flooding across portions of the northern Philippines. The destructive typhoon is now on a path that will take it through Vietnam, AccuWeather forecasters say.
At least eight people were killed and thousands more were displaced in the wake of Noru, known as Karding in the Philippines, as cleanup efforts begin across Luzon, the northernmost and largest island of the country.
Five government rescue workers drowned in the Bulcan province, located north of the capital area of Manila, Sunday after their boat overturned when it was hit by a collapsed wall, The Associated Press reported.
These rescuers died in the very same floodwaters from which they were scrambling to save villagers in danger.
Elsewhere, at least three other people were killed in the Philippines as a result of Noru, the AP reported. According to local police, an elderly villager died in a landslide, one man drowned after refusing to leave his house that stood beside a swollen river, and the body of a farmer was found in a plantation that was inundated by flash flooding.
Ahead of landfall, nearly 80,000 people were moved to emergency shelters, according to disaster-response officials.
As of Monday, the entire provinces of Aurora and Nueva Ecija remained without power, the AP reported. These two provinces took the brunt of Noru's powerful impacts.
Heavy rain from Noru began to overspread the Philippines late Saturday night and continued through much of Sunday.
Floodwaters quickly overwhelmed streets and homes across central and southern portions of Luzon as Noru unloaded torrential downpours over the weekend. Floodwaters rose rapidly as 4-8 inches (100-200 mm) of rain fell across a wide swath of the region.
In Tanay, a town located east of Manila and within the mountainous portion of Luzon, 10.67 inches (271 mm) of rain fell in just 24 hours.
Manila itself recorded a general 2-4 inches (50-100 mm) of rain across the city. About 3,000 people were moved to safety across metropolitan Manila as Noru's rain and wind arrived, according to the AP. Classes and government work were suspended in the capital city as a precaution Monday.
This amount of rainfall over a relatively short time frame is not all that unusual for the city, forecasters say. Manila typically records around 14 inches (350 mm) of rain for the entire month of September.
Before it slammed the Philippines, Noru rapidly intensified over the weekend. Early Saturday morning, Noru was classified as a tropical storm hundreds of miles east of the Philippines. By Saturday night, Noru had gained so much organization and strength that it was the equivalent of a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic and East Pacific basins.
Noru maintained this strength as it approached the Philippines archipelago Sunday, according to the tropical authority for the basin, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
For a time over the weekend, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, which is not the official authority for the basin, estimated the strength of Noru to be higher and classified the cyclone as a super typhoon.
Noru made its first landfall Sunday afternoon as its center crossed over the Polillo Islands. A short time later, Noru made its second and final landfall in the Philippines.
Noru slammed into Dingalan, a municipality in the Aurora province, at 8:20 p.m. Sunday, local time. At the time of both landfalls, Noru had a strength equivalent to that of a Category 3 major hurricane, according to the JMA.
The circulation and strength of Noru took a hit as it traversed the most mountainous portion of Luzon, but it still was able to unleash deadly flooding. Noru emerged into the South China Sea during the overnight hours on Sunday as a low-end Category 2 hurricane equivalent.
Noru was nearing the Vietnam coastline as of Tuesday night, local time. (AccuWeather)
Noru regained strength over the South China Sea, becoming the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane once again, as it set its sights on Vietnam.
More than 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Vietnam ahead of Noru's impact, according to Reuters. Hundreds of flights have been canceled with curfews put into effect across the country.
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