Typhoon Goni hits Okinawa after killing 15 in Philippines

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By JIM GOMEZ

TOKYO (AP) — Typhoon Goni lashed the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa with heavy rains and winds on Monday, after leaving at least 15 people dead and others missing in the northern Philippines, including a dozen miners whose work camps were buried by a huge mudslide in a mountain village, officials said.

Overnight, record wind-gusts of 256 kph (159 mph) flipped over cars and knocked down utility polls on the remote Japanese island of Ishigaki, near Taiwan, Japanese media reported. A few people were cut by broken windows. The storm, with sustained winds of 180 kph (112 mph), was heading north toward Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu.

In the Philippines, Goni dumped heavy rain for three days on the mountainous north, then battered already-sodden upland villages with fierce winds, triggering landslides, officials said.

Landslides killed at least 12 people in the hard-hit mountain province of Benguet, including four gold miners who were pulled out of a huge mudslide that buried three work camps. A dozen miners remain missing and more than 100 policemen and fellow miners dug through the muddy heap Sunday amid fading hope that survivors would be found, officials said.

FULL story at link.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d633373923f9464a8f9e280d8a0d9676/typhoon-leaves-15-dead-several-missing-north-philippines

[davidpdx]

1. What a mess

I hope they find the minors quickly. The heavy rain is bad for rescue efforts.

These storms are following such strange patterns. Goni went from Guam, to the top of the Philippines and then up to Japan. There are two more active typhoons on this side of the Pacific as well.

[starroute]

2. And Goni strengthened again when they thought it would weaken

You can see how it weakened from pink (Cat. 4) to yellow (Cat. 1) after hitting the Philippines -- but after a couple of days it went back up to red (Cat. 3). That wasn't expected.

[davidpdx]

3. Well going back over warm water, even I as someone who knows little about them

would have guessed that would be a possibility. Japan has very good technology to track storms and from past experience they know what Cat 3's and 4's are like when they hit. It must have happened so fast it took them by surprise.

It looks close enough to Korea that Busan, Ulsan, and Pohang are getting some of it.

[Art_from_Ark]

4. Looks like it will be heading for Vladivostok

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[davidpdx]

5. Good, the Russians are full of hot air

they could use a shower or two.