Typhoon Haima Smashes Philippines With Ferocious Winds, Heavy Rain

Super Typhoon Haima struck late Wednesday the coastal areas of Philippine carrying ferocious winds and heavy rain, rekindling the fears of Typhoon Haiyan of 2013.

Haima slammed inland in Penablanca town in Cagayan province. It sustaind winds of 225 kilometers per hour and tore tin roofs off houses. Many villages lost power too.

According to Councilor Elisa Arugay the wind is intense and trees are being forced down.

The typhoon is forecast to blow across Apayao and thereafter to Ilocos Norte province before moving Thursday morning to South China Sea.

Haima is more of concern as it has struck just before midnight and to hit cities and towns amid power outages.

In six of the northern provinces the warning has been raised to a five-level storm, which is the highest. It is said the powerful winds could bring widespread damage.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said, “We are possibly dealing with a typhoon that is even stronger than Typhoon Yolanda… We must, therefore, brace ourselves for the possible effects of a typhoon of this magnitude.”

The sad part for the people is many of the provinces have yet not completely recovered from the recent powerful Typhoon Sarika.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said, “We only pray that we be spared destruction such as in the previous past which brought agony and suffering to our people, but we are ready.”