Super typhoon threatens Philippines, still reeling from recent storm that killed more than 200
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Manila (AP): Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the biggest storm to threaten the Philippines this year, started battering the country's northeastern coast ahead of landfall on Sunday, knocking down power, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and prompting the defence chief to warn millions to evacuate to safety from high-risk villages before it's too late.
Fung-wong, which could cover two-thirds of the Southeast Asian archipelago with its 1,600-kilometre-wide rain and wind band, approached from the Pacific while the Philippines was still dealing with the devastation wrought by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which left at least 204 people dead in central island provinces on Tuesday before pummelling Vietnam, where at least five were killed.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a state of emergency due to the extensive devastation caused by Kalmaegi and the expected calamity from Fung-wong, which is called Uwan in the Philippines.
Fung-wong, with winds of up to 185 kph and gusts of up to 230 kph, was spotted by government forecasters Sunday morning about 125 kilometres northeast of the town of Virac in Catanduanes province, where it is already being felt.
The typhoon is expected to track northwestward and make landfall on the coast of Aurora or Isabela province later Sunday or early Monday, state forecasters said.
Tropical cyclones with sustained winds of 185 kph or higher are categorised in the Philippines as a super typhoon, a designation adopted years ago to underscore the urgency tied to such extreme weather disturbances.
Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who oversees the country's disaster response agencies and the military, warned about the potentially catastrophic impact of Fung-wong in televised remarks Saturday.
He said the storm could affect a vast expanse of the country, including Cebu, the central province hit hardest by Typhoon Kalmaegi, and metropolitan Manila, the densely populated capital region which is the seat of power and the country's financial centre.
Teodoro asked people to follow orders by officials to immediately move away from villages and towns prone to flash floods, landslides and coastal tidal surges. “We need to do this because when it's already raining or the typhoon has hit and flooding has started, it's hard to rescue people,” Teodoro said.
The Philippines has not called for international help following the devastation caused by Kalmaegi but Teodoro said the United States, the country's longtime treaty ally, and Japan were ready to provide assistance.
As Fung-wong approached with its wide band of fierce wind and rain, several eastern towns and villages lost power, Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro of the Office of Civil Defence said.
About 50,000 families were evacuated from high-risk villages in Bicol, a northeastern coastal region vulnerable to Pacific cyclones and mudflows from Mayon, one of the country's most active volcanoes.
Authorities in northern provinces to be hit or sideswiped by Fung-wong preemptively declared the shutdown of schools and most government offices on Monday.
Several domestic flights were cancelled in threatened provinces, and more than 6,600 commuters and cargo workers were stranded in at least 86 seaports, where the coast guard prohibited ships from venturing into increasingly rough seas.
The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. The country also is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
