A Typhoon Spared the Philippine Capital. Will Manila Be So Lucky Next Time?

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/01/world/asia/typhoon-goni-philippines-manila.html

Source: By Hannah Beech and Jason Gutierrez, The New York Times. 

Excerpt: When Typhoon Goni made landfall in the disaster-plagued nation on Sunday morning, with sustained winds of 135 miles per hour, it ranked as the most powerful storm to hit the Southeast Asian nation in years. ...by day’s end, Goni, known locally as Rolly, appeared to have largely bypassed the capital, with no fatalities reported there. At least 16 people were confirmed to have died from the typhoon in the Bicol region southeast of the capital, according to the regional Office of Civil Defense, with three people reported missing. Rivers overflowed, tree branches flew and wet concrete-like mudflows poured down the slopes of a volcano. ...now climate change is exacerbating the Philippines’ exposure to natural disasters, making it one of the most vulnerable countries on the planet, scientists say. ...Mass deforestation, including the destruction of mangroves along the coastlines, has torn away natural barriers to wind and water. The Asian Development Bank says that more than 23,000 people in the Philippines died from natural hazards from 1997 to 2016 as the warming planet brought more powerful storms.... 


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