Huge typhoon grazes Philippines and heads past Taiwan to Okinawa

People are returning to their homes after a powerful storm grazed the northeastern tip of the Philippines over the weekend. Okinawa and other parts of Japan are likely to be in the storm's path.

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You can put this high-resolution satellite view of Typhoon Noul in motion with an animation compiled by the University of Wisconsin from photos taken by Himawari-8 satellite. You get a clear view of the wind-patterns generated by the huge storm. http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/150509-10_himawari8_visible_band3_STY_Noul_anim.gif

Huge typhoon grazes Philippines and heads past Taiwan to Okinawa

Manila, May 11, 2015,  AFP – Two people were killed after a powerful storm grazed the northeastern tip of the Philippines over the weekend, civil defence officials said Monday.

Many of the people evacuated from the storm's path started to return home late Sunday night, after Noul – the fourth and strongest storm to hit the Philippines so far this year – whipped coastal villages with wind gusts of up to 220 kilometres per hour.

Authorities said they were not expecting significant casualties after most heeded evacuation orders issued from Friday.

"People listened to our warnings. They've learned their lesson from past storms," Norma Talosig, civil defence director for the northeastern region, told AFP.

A 70-year-old man and his 45-year-old son died after being electrocuted while fixing their house in Aparri town Sunday morning as Typhoon Noul started to bear down.

The state weather bureau said the winds were strong enough to stir storm surges, uproot trees, blow roofs off houses, topple lamp posts and destroy crops.

But Talosig said there have been no immediate reports of heavy damage.

Most of the 3,000 people who left coastal fishing villages in the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan have started to return home, Talosig said.

Military personnel evacuate young residents and their families living near the Bulusan volcano to a safer place in Irosin town, Sorsogon province, south of Manila on May 8, 2015, two days after the volcano spewed ash, and ahead of Typhoon Noul passing the province. AFP PHOTO / Charism Sayat

Another 300 people have returned to villages near the slopes of Bulusan volcano in the central region, provincial disaster council head Raden Dimaano told AFP.

Authorities feared Noul's heavy rains would trigger volcanic mud flows. Bulusan has had two minor ash explosions since May 1.

From Reuters

Despite the destruction wrought by Noul, it also brought much needed rains to rice and corn farms that had been hit by intense summer heat.

"The rains brought by Dodong (local name of Noul) helped our farmers greatly," said James Geronimo, public information officer of Isabela, the country's top corn producer and the second biggest rice-growing province.

The projected track of Typhoon Noul by Weather Underground. wunderground.com

From DPA

Late Sunday, Typhoon Noul was reported to be about 200 kilometres south of Taiwan and expected to approach Ishigaki and Miyako islands later in the day, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The sixth typhoon of the season, travelling north at a speed of 20 kilometres per hour, had maximum sustained winds of 180 kph and gusts of 252 kph, the agency said.

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