A year after Yolanda, Tacloban braces for Hagupit

A year after it bore the brunt of super typhoon Yolanda, Tacloban City in Leyte is gearing up to be possibly hit by tropical cyclone Hagupit, which intensified into a typhoon around 2 a.m. Wednesday, a television report said. 
 

According to a report on GMA News' Unang Balita, authorities in the province's capital are holding meetings to discuss the preparedness of the city, with people living near the sea as top priority.

City officials are also preparing the Tacloban Astrodome, which will again serve as an evacuation center should the area be hit by Hagupit.

 

While it is still too far to directly hit the Philippines, PAGASA forecaster Jun Galang urged residents and local government officials in Eastern Visayas to prepare for its landfall this weekend.

 

By 4 a.m. Wednesday, Hagupit was 1,670 km east of Mindanao, with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph near its center, and gusts of up to 160 kph. It was moving west-northwest at 30 kph.

 

It is still predicted to enter PAR on Thursday, when it will locally be called Ruby. 

 

Tacloban City was among those hardest hit by Yolanda, which wiped out practically everything in its path as it swept ashore on Nov. 8, 2013. 
 

Government data showed more than 14.5 million people were affected by the storm in six regions and 44 provinces. More than four million people remain homeless.