Philippines Slammed by Typhoon Koppu Through Weekend; More Storms Could be on the Way

Typhoon Koppu tore through the Philippines over the weekend of 19 October 2015, killing at least three and displacing more than 23,000 people. The category-four typhoon’s 210 kilometers per hour wind gusts uprooted homes and trees while pounding rains created mass flooding and landslides.

The storm first hit the northeast coast of the Philippines in the early hours of Sunday morning. Our ENcast satellite forecasting system picked up large amounts of lightning in the area during this time. The above image shows the lightning strikes pounding the east coast just between the times of 1:00am (PHT) and 6:00am (PHT). The storm sat above the Philippines for seven hours before beginning to slowly move west.

At least 8 people have been reported missing as the floodwaters continue to rise. Many villages, like the one above, are no longer accessible to rescuers due to high water levels. Continued rain coupled with landslides and tsunami-like storm surges are predicted to add to the rising flood waters over the next few days.

Our meteorologists are currently utilizing our StreamerRT tool to track Typhoon Koppu (left system) as it makes its way through the region. StreamerRT has also picked up a second storm system with heavy rain and concentrated lightning strikes moving in from the east.