#ompong

Mangkhut is currently on track to be as strong as Super Typhoon Haiyan that hit the Philippines in 2013 and killed more than 6,000 people.

[Super Typhoon Mangkhut/Ompong, CNN] 

The mind boggles at how many people live in its destructive path. Guam. The most populous island of the Philippines. Hong Kong. Guangzhou. 

The typhoon struck the northern tip of Luzon and threatened the lives and homes of nearly four million people of the country’s 106 million population. (Manila Standard)

[Super Typhoon Ompong’s aftermath, Philippine Star]

Typhoon 'Ompong' slams into Luzon at full strength: “Typhoon "Ompong" (international name: Mangkhut) slammed into the Philippines largest island of Luzon with its 205 kph winds Friday evening.”

For us Americans still not using the metric system, that’s nearly 130 mph.

My helpless worrying from afar is pretty damn robust at this point (thanks 2018) but here’s a Philippine-specific list of groups and here’s the list of international aid groups.

The large wind field will also push a large and destructive storm surge inland towards Guangzhou. Guangzhou is the #1 most vulnerable city on the planet to damage from sea level rise and coastal flooding, according to a World Bank report. (Weather Underground) 

 On this side of the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Florence just dumped three feet of water over much of the eastern Carolinas.  

[Water from the Neuse river floods the streets during the passing of Hurricane Florence in the town of New Bern, North Carolina. Reuters] 

Maybe the best rescue photo from Hurricane Florence? (News & Observer)

BBC: Here's why this storm threatens not only the coast but millions of people inland.The coastal area of South Carolina features hundreds of inlets while North Carolina has barrier islands miles away from the mainland. As the storm moves inland it will find a relatively flat area for hundreds of miles.

There’s additional concern about the health impacts of flooding given large number of industrial cesspools.

Waterkeeper Alliance and North Carolina Waterkeeper groups are actively preparing to document the possible impacts of flooded coal ash ponds, industrial hog waste cesspools, and industrial poultry facilities on the state’s waterways.

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In 2016, after Hurricane Matthew, Duke Energy’s H.F. Lee Facility in Goldsboro twice released coal ash into nearby waterways, with one breach dumping a one-inch thick layer of coal ash into the Neuse River. A subsequent analysis by Appalachian State University detected dangerous levels of heavy metals, including antimony and cobalt, in a sample from the spill. The flood waters also partially submerged 10 industrial swine operations with 39 barns, 26 large chicken-raising organizations with 102 barns, and 14 open-air cesspools holding millions of gallons of liquid hog manure.In 1999, the impacts from Hurricane Floyd dumped massive amounts of raw animal waste from industrial meat production facilities into the Neuse River. Sampling conducted after Hurricane Floyd found dangerous levels of E. Coli and Clostridium perfringens in water, even after flood waters receded.  Current floods in North Carolina are likely to exceed the record levels set then.

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