General Info

[QUOTE=Hutsori;1653176]Right. At some point the difference between 175 kmph wind / 60 cm rain and 210 kmph wind / 80 cm rain doesn't matter. Either will eff you up.[/QUOTE]Politics will play.

As of now PNoy managed to convince the Tacloban Mayor as a cry baby.

Once this storm passes, the rulers will do everything to win votes before swinging in to help, I am sure.

Sad, they never learn to build proper storm shelters, lest people may not vote for saviors.

I read the storm is moving slowly, means the damage maybe worse than Yolanda!

Having sat through two storms in the periphery I can imagine what hope the victims can have.

[QUOTE=PipJaeger;1653115]And what has that got to do with the price of tea in China? Classified as a Super Typhoon or not, it's still going to wreak havoc.[/QUOTE]Well let's see. I grew up in the tropics. Cyclones & Typhoons are a fact of life. 'Downgraded' is a word you want to hear. 'Intensified' is not a word you want to hear. For the sake of the people in its path I'm hoping this storm continues to weaken & move slowly.

AV.

I strongly suggest that you avoid Globe Cellular service in the Philippines. Use smart instead.

At random I purchased Globe service at the airport when given a choice between Globe and Smart. Lonely Planet suggests both.

I paid 1500 and my friend paid 1500 for a full month of free data text and phone, which is what the woman who worked at the airport kiosk promised.

Of course, as soon as we left the airport, we found out that neither of us had a working cell phone for more than the 100 credits that came with the sim card. We spent 2 hours in the Globe store trying to fix the problem and eventually they just told us to f-off after multiple calls. I basically just wasted my time and money.

We decided to get Smart cell phone service instead and had no further problems.

I strongly suggest that you do not get GLOBE Cellular service in the Philippines.

[QUOTE=EconoTech;1653235]Politics will play.

As of now PNoy managed to convince the Tacloban Mayor as a cry baby.

Once this storm passes, the rulers will do everything to win votes before swinging in to help, I am sure.

Sad, they never learn to build proper storm shelters, lest people may not vote for saviors.

I read the storm is moving slowly, means the damage maybe worse than Yolanda!

Having sat through two storms in the periphery I can imagine what hope the victims can have.[/QUOTE]I have always found that the most reliable intel regarding storms is on [URL]tropicalstormrisk.com[/URL].

As you can see from the grab shot below, the storm has decreased from a category 5 (super typhoon) and is probably a category 1 by now.

But of course Manila's drainage system does not even have the capability of handling a tropical depression, without the roads etc becoming flooded.

[QUOTE=Ikksman;1653306]I have always found that the most reliable intel regarding storms is on [URL]tropicalstormrisk.com[/URL].

As you can see from the grab shot below, the storm has decreased from a category 5 (super typhoon) and is probably a category 1 by now.

But of course Manila's drainage system does not even have the capability of handling a tropical depression, without the roads etc becoming flooded.[/QUOTE]How many days after does it take normally "I know floods can vary" but let's say a large flood to clear off enough to get around? Also I arrive Tuesday 9th in afternoon LOL airline didn't cancel as of yet so my concern is how to get from airport to QC if the flood or damage is bad.

Thanks.

Be.

[QUOTE=BigBubba;1653457]How many days after does it take normally "I know floods can vary" but let's say a large flood to clear off enough to get around? Also I arrive Tuesday 9th in afternoon LOL airline didn't cancel as of yet so my concern is how to get from airport to QC if the flood or damage is bad.
Thanks.
Be.[/QUOTE]A challenging question and as you say, floods can vary.

I remember the Manila flooding in 2012, when a minor Cat 1 typhoon / tropical depression, that was hundreds of Km north of Luzon, caused extensive flooding in MM. If I remember correctly more than 1/4 of Manila was underwater, and pockets of flooding remained for more than 2 weeks. I was in ChangPing in China at the time, and even it was heavily affected by the amount of rain that was in this minor typhoon.

If the Pasig River floods very badly, then QC could be isolated from the rest of Manila for days.

I would recommend reading the local Manila news for up to date information.

Good luck,

Ikks.

P.S. Hagupit was an interesting choice of name for the typhoon!

[QUOTE=BigBubba;1653457]How many days after does it take normally "I know floods can vary" but let's say a large flood to clear off enough to get around? Also I arrive Tuesday 9th in afternoon LOL airline didn't cancel as of yet so my concern is how to get from airport to QC if the flood or damage is bad.

Thanks.

Be.[/QUOTE]Unfortunately BB there is no definitive answer to the flooding question. A heavy down pour can produce minor flooding that clears in a couple of hours. Sustained monsoonal storms, much longer (days).
Hagupit is forecast to continue to weaken & be downgraded to a tropical storm by Tuesday. The only problem is that it is zig zagging around over the PI's rather than tracking west as most Typhoons do eventually in this region. A LOT of rain.

Your biggest headache traversing to QC in the afternoon will be traffic congestion. Expect long long delays. If possible book into a hotel near to the airport & get a ride to QC in the early morning.

AV.

[QUOTE=Amavida;1653294]Well let's see. I grew up in the tropics. Cyclones & Typhoons are a fact of life. 'Downgraded' is a word you want to hear. 'Intensified' is not a word you want to hear. For the sake of the people in its path I'm hoping this storm continues to weaken & move slowly.

AV.[/QUOTE]As a native Floridian and former first responder (S&R) I too have a bit of experience of Trop Storm and Hurricaines / Typhoons. So I have to ask, are you daff? Slow moving is that last thing you want, not only when a storm moves slow does is dump more rain (= more flooding), but delays relief / rescue efforts too.

[QUOTE=PipJaeger;1653509]As a native Floridian and former first responder (S&R) I too have a bit of experience of Trop Storm and Hurricaines / Typhoons. So I have to ask, are you daff? Slow moving is that last thing you want, not only when a storm moves slow does is dump more rain (= more flooding), but delays relief / rescue efforts too.[/QUOTE]Thanks for your expert input Pip! I'm not an expert like you. I agree, flooding is the next misery to contend with. In my non expert life experience, usually if a system slows down & weakens that's generally a good thing as the ferocity of the thing is dissipating. That's a good thing no? In any event, it's rainy season, every system that passes through is going to dump water on us. I'm so happy to know its weakening to a Tropical Storm for the sake of my dear friends & employees in the area.

Cheers.

AV.

[QUOTE=BigBubba;1653457]How many days after does it take normally "I know floods can vary" but let's say a large flood to clear off enough to get around? Also I arrive Tuesday 9th in afternoon LOL airline didn't cancel as of yet so my concern is how to get from airport to QC if the flood or damage is bad.

Thanks.

Be.[/QUOTE]I can tell you that just after "Ondoy" it took 4 hours driving from airport to Makati. And once took 12 hours from Balintawak to Makati, which is a distance of about 15 kms.

After another more recent typhoon I was due to meet a girl and she's tells me the usual " I will be late". She sent me a pic of her in a boat explaining, " that's why sir".

[QUOTE=FreebieFan;1653533]I can tell you that just after "Ondoy" it took 4 hours driving from airport to Makati. And once took 12 hours from Balintawak to Makati, which is a distance of about 15 kms.

After another more recent typhoon I was due to meet a girl and she's tells me the usual " I will be late". She sent me a pic of her in a boat explaining, " that's why sir".[/QUOTE]On as regular week day once it took 5 hours from Balintawag to Cubao.

Then 4 hours Cubao to Makati,. Agreed it was holy week processions all over.

Throw in a typhoon, miracles happen in Manila, just don't fix dates until You have reached the hotel!!

Again magically even during flooding cell phones work, never mind the land line systems are non existant.

I have a sneaky feeling Ruby will be as bad as Ondoy and of course nothing has been fixed no can it be fixed with squatters and landlords not cooperating. Only in Philippine s history will repeat itself.

Well I may delay a few days to go since it's all uncertain as of now I don't want to arrive at a connection flight find out I can't go further and be stuck at a hotel or sleeping in a airport bored out of my mind! Airline said I can cancel if I choose to also at no fee. But wtf I want out of reality for a couple weeks and do nothing I don't care if it's dealing with storm cleanup that's funner than the shit I deal with daily. I also am ex storm 1st resp Gen set mover so I know what a storm is like. All I think of is Katrina wtf that was a mess but I know this won't be that bad but still bad drainage system along with lot's of small debris blocking flow of water = headaches then I think CLEAN WATER where will I get that super valuable necessity. Safety and sleep are last of my concerns LOL that is freaking sad reading I worry more about water than safety LOL.

BTW airline customer service had no clue a storm was hitting really wtf it's only all over the world news.

The storm has just begun to affect Metro Manila, and at this point there is no definititive account of damages. So far, seven people have died, but it appears at the local governments in the Visayas did an effective job, evacuating about half a million people and averting a large scale tragedy. I've got so, e work to do in my Orrigas office this week so I'm going to try to get there on Wednesday from Davao, but for those with a more flexible schedule, I'd think that Thursday is about the earliest that Manila will return to normal.

GE.

[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1653842]The storm has just begun to affect Metro Manila, ......[/QUOTE]I am currently in Batangas, about 100 kms south of Manila and at this writing 640 AM local 8 Dec there is ony very light winds and overcast, so sign of an approaching storm and no sign of the locals doing any prep work for a storm.

Cloudy and cool in Dasma right now. 6:50 am Hope it stays like this all day.