Vamco leaves trail of destruction across Philippines and Vietnam

Typhoon Vamco (known locally as Ulysses in the Philippines) has left a trail of death and destruction along its path across the Philippines and Vietnam.

Vamco first formed across the Philippine Sea early last week. The storm quickly strengthened to a typhoon and tracked to the west, making landfall in the northern Philippines on Wednesday night.

Vamco, crossed the northern Philippines during the middle of last week with the strength equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane. Sustained winds of around 113 km/h (70 mph) wreaked havoc across the northern Philippines in many areas having already faced devastating blows from Typhoon Molave and Super Typhoon Goni, which plowed through the area in late October and early November.

According to a local news network, Vamco made its first landfall around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, local time, near Patnanungan, a small island to the east of Luzon. At 1:30 a.m., Thursday, local time, Vamco made its final Philippine landfall over General Nakar, the largest municipality on the island of Luzon.

Rescuers use rubber boats to save trapped residents as flood waters rise in the village of Providence in Marikina City east of Manila, Philippines, Thursday. Nov. 12, 2020. The typhoon swelled rivers and flooded low-lying areas as it passed over the storm-battered northeast Philippines, where rescuers were deployed early Thursday to help people flee the rising waters. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

While strong winds caused damage across Luzon, heavy rain brought the greatest impacts with widespread flooding across the already hard-hit region.

As of Sunday evening, the Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the death toll from Vamco (Ulysses) stands at 67, making it the deadliest storm of the year.

Due to the extent of damage, the NDRRMC recommends declaration of state of calamity in all of Luzon, the Philippines largest and most populous island.

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In Marikina City, classes at all levels have been suspended for a month due to the effects of Typhoon Vamco, according to CNN Philippines.

Some residents were caught off guard at the sudden need to evacuate, and the mayor of Marikina, Marcy Teodoro, admitted that there were shortcomings in preparing for this storm. He also appealed to the national government for aid in recovering from the flash flooding.

Due to the widespread flooding, as well as wind damage, the Philippines Department of Agriculture estimate losses at nearly 1 billion Philippine peso that affects over 40,000 farmers.

Just a few days after Vamco made landfall, the Philippines was hit by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake early Monday morning, local time. Damage and aftershocks are expected, according to The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

After crossing the Philippines, Vamco gained intensity to that of a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale with maximum sustained winds of 210 km/h (130 mph) while across the South China Sea.

Satellite loop from Saturday evening, local time, as Typhoon Vamco neared landfall in central Vietnam. RAMMB/CIRA

While Vamco lost some wind intensity prior to landfall in Vietnam, it still moved inland on Sunday with the equivalent strength to that of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale (maximum sustained winds of 119-153 km/h or 74-95 mph). Vamco has since rapidly lost wind intensity and transitioned into a tropical rainstorm.

According to the BBC, 650,000 people in coastal areas were moved to higher ground on Saturday in advance of the storm.

Local media reported that 18 people have been injured due to the storm. No deaths have been reported as of Sunday evening.

In addition, in excess of 1,500 houses have been damaged or destroyed.

Vamco comes to Vietnam on the heels of many other tropical cyclones since the beginning of October. Flooding has caused over 100 deaths and damaged nearly 300,000 homes.

AccuWeather meteorologists expect drier weather to return to the region this week with no additional tropical storms or typhoons expected.

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