The Atlantic is not the only place that is blowing up with tropical disturbances after a quiet start to the season. The Philippines also managed to dodge typhoons for most of the West Pacific season, but now luck is running out over there. Typhoon Noru (locally called “Karding” in the Philippines), is is looking like a very dangerous storm.
According to the latest report from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Noru’s sustained winds are 195 km/h with gusts of 240 km/h. This makes it the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane after having rapidly intensified from a Category 1 storm within 24 hours. It is still 175 km out to sea, so further intensification is likely as Noru heads due west at 20 km/h. If that path holds, it may not get much stronger due to make an initial landfall on Polillo Island, but it’s pretty likely that it will be a Cat 4 or 5 when it makes landfall on Luzon.
The next few hours will finalize whatever fate may hold, but right now it looks like the eye of the storm will cross near the midpoint of the 100 km as-the-crow-flies line between Manila and my wife’s family farm near Cabanatuan City. Both of those locations are currently under what PAGASA calls a “Signal 3” warning, which indicates that there will widespread power outages, severe damage to agriculture, and moderate damage to buildings and infrastructure.
Three of my five stepchildren, all five grandchildren, and my farm dogs are all in the path of this storm. What really infuriates me about Typhoon Noru is the fact that it’s rapid intensification gives it all the hallmarks of a climate disaster. I’ll be updating this diary with more details, but for now I’ll just pray as the storm takes a direct aim at densely populated areas near Manila and small farms in the Filipino agricultural heartland of Central Luzon.
To follow Noru a.k.a. Karding, you can go to the PAGASA website. The next update will be made at 2AM EST (2PM Philippines Time), with updates coming every 3 hours after that.
Sunday, Sep 25, 2022 · 11:59:54 AM +00:00 · FleekDoggPPLH
I just woke up here in Maryland, and I’m going to wait for the 8AM update from PAGASA before posting new storm stats.
For now I can say that several inland towns in Northern Bulacan Province and Southern Nueva Ecija Province are now under Signal 5, the highest wind signal that signifies catastrophic damage. The northern half of the National Capitol Region (Metro Manila) is under a Signal 4, and so is Tarlac, Angeles City, and Cabanatuan City and the farm.
Sunday, Sep 25, 2022 · 12:26:42 PM +00:00 · FleekDoggPPLH
According to the 8PM (local time) update from PAGASA, Noru has now slightly weakened to winds of 185 km/h but with stronger gusts of 255 km/h. I had feared that it would continuing intensifying into a Cat 5 and become a repeat of the Yolanda disaster that hit the Visayas in 2013, but this is looking more like the Cat 3 Lando that hit Central Luzon in 2015.
It is still flagged as headed due west at 20 km/h, but the eye has shifted north from 15 degrees latitude to 15.1 degrees. If Noru has indeed turned northwest, this is good news for densely populated Metro Manila and its suburbs in Bulacan Province, but bad news for Mrs. Fleek Dogg’s family farm and the rest of Central Luzon.
Wind signals have not changed along the east coast of Luzon, but Signal 5 has been raised for Eastern Pampanga Province. My stepdaughter and her 2 children live on a farm in one of the Nueva Ecija towns that are under Signal 5, but the good news is that a picture of our granddaughter hanging tough was sent out at around 6:30.
Here’s live footage from Polillo Island, where the storm is making it’s first landfall, that shows what a “Signal 5” looks like:
I’ll be updating at around noon Maryland time with my own thoughts about how this storm ties in to climate change, politics, and how they both come together to rat-fleek the global economy and human standards of living.
For now, I’ll say that Bong Bong might need to think twice about building coastal expressways along the forested mountains that protect the cities from the effects of tropical storms because it looks like Super Typhoon Noru is sparking environmental awareness on social media:
Google Translation of 2nd Cartoon Panel — “You won today, Sierra Madre (Mountains), but don’t celebrate too much.
Google Translation of 3rd Cartoon Panel — “The day is coming where the people you protect will also flatten YOUUUUU!!!!
Sunday, Sep 25, 2022 · 4:36:27 PM +00:00 · FleekDoggPPLH
Typhoon Noru, as of 11pm local time, was centered in San Leonardo Nueva Ecija. That is just 20 kilometers from my wife’s family farm, but the good news is that the dreaded “Signal 5” was not raised in Cabanatuan City. Winds were down to 175 km/h, but that’s still a strong category 2 storm and gusts are up to a concerning 290 km/h, around the same speed at the high-speed rail in neighboring Taiwan!
Last activity in our group chat was at around 9 o’clock, so I pray that everyone is OK. All I can say is that the #KardingPH hashtag on Twitter has been active. There are some pretty interesting posts that show how this storm has a silver lining in terms of both human compassion and critical political thinking.
I’m going to start a Part 2 diary to dig deeper into these tweets and their implications as I also continue to update the Kos community on Noru’s destructive journey towards central Vietnam.