Laisand Kan

Seminal Event

What: Due to the effects of El Nino, Typhoon Babs, the second typhoon to hit the Philippines in a week, pounded the Philippines and dumped heavy rains in Taiwan.

Where: The Philippines and Taiwan 

When: late October of 1998

Summary

El Nino has increased the strength and number of storms in the eastern and central Pacific. Typhoon Babs was the second typhoon to hit the Philippines in a week. The devastating storm, killing at least 150 people and forcing more than 320,000 people to flee their homes, pounded the Philippines with heavy winds and rain. With sustained winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour, Typhoon Babs destroyed an estimate of $32 million worth of bamboo and coconut plantations. Roads were blocked by landslides, and schools and government offices were forced to close.

Philippines President Joseph Estrada declared Catanduanes and three other provinces in the southern tip of Luzon under a state of calamity. He also urged First Lady Dr. Luisa Ejercito Estrada to widen relief operations and provide canned goods, rice and medicine to victims of the typhoon. After gyrating the Philippines for a week, Typhoon Babs raced toward the South China Sea.
 
 

Timeline

10/19/98
* Tropical storm Babs is over the Pacific Ocean, about 450 kilometers east southeast of Borongan town in Eastern Samar province.

10/20/98
* Babs worsens into a typhoon.

10/21/98
* Typhoon Babs with sustained winds of 160 kilometers per hour roars toward the Samar and the Bicol area.

10/23/98
* Typhoon Babs with winds of 185 kilometers per hour hits Central Luzon.

10/24/98
* Philippines President Joseph Estrada declares Catanduanes and three other provinces in the southern tip of Luzon disaster areas.
* Typhoon Bab gains strength and heads for southern China.

10/25/98
* Philippines First Lady Dr. Luisa Ejercito Estrada intensifies relief work in Southern Luzon.
* Typhoon Babs brings heavy rains to Taiwan.

10/26/98
* Typhoon Babs weakens to a tropical storm over the South China Sea.