The Philippines declared a state of calamity in a northern province after super typhoon Megi made landfall on Monday, cutting off power, forcing flight cancellations and putting the region's rice crop at risk.
Megi, the 10th and strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, hit Isabela province at 11:25 a.m. (0325 GMT) and was heading west-southwest across the north of the main island of Luzon with winds of 190 kph (117 mph) near the center, forecasters said.
Tropical Storm Risk (www.tropicalstormrisk.com) said Megi, known locally as Juan, was a category 5 super typhoon, the highest rating, with winds of more than 250 kph (155 mph).
The weather bureau said the typhoon had weakened and slowed down after it slammed into mountains in northwest Luzon late in the morning.
Lieutenant-General Gaudencio Pangilinan, head of the military in northern Luzon, said the typhoon's fury was felt in Cagayan and Isabela provinces, where trees were uprooted and roofs of houses blown away.
"There's almost zero visibility in some areas due to heavy rain and strong wind," Pangilinan told Reuters by phone. "We expect extensive damage on property and agriculture. We're still validating reports from the field."
The typhoon is expected to clear Luzon island on Monday night, and head across the South China Sea toward China and possibly Vietnam, which is already suffering from floods
Monday, October 18, 2010
EPA: Blowing Big Coal’s Top on Mountaintop Coal Mining
If it were ever possible or even realistic to put the words Appalachia and victory in the same sentence, this might be one of those rare times: the Environmental Protection Agency's Region 3 Administrator Shawn Garvin has recommended the withdrawal of the mining permit for the nation's largest proposed mountaintop removal coal mine site, the Spruce No. 1 Mine in Logan County, West Virginia.
If Garvin's decision, released in an 84-page report on Friday, becomes the final EPA say about Spruce No. 1, the mine's owner, Arch Coal, will be barred from disposing mining waste in the state's streams. This will effectively block operation of the mine.
A year ago the EPA determined that Spruce No. 1 "raised significant environmental and water quality concerns" and halted further action on the company's Clean Water permit process. A subsequent legal maneuver appeared to set the stage for EPA and Arch to work out their differences regarding Spruce No. 1 and for EPA to determine if a revised mining plan could be developed that would comply with the Clean Water Act.
But Garvin's report said the mine should be halted because "mitigation is not likely to offset anticipated impacts."
If allowed to proceed, Spruce No.1 would clear more than 2,200 acres of forest, bury more than seven miles of headwater streams, and contaminate the downstream water supply. In mountaintop coal removal, the tops of mountains are literally blasted away to get at the coal seams.
If Garvin's decision, released in an 84-page report on Friday, becomes the final EPA say about Spruce No. 1, the mine's owner, Arch Coal, will be barred from disposing mining waste in the state's streams. This will effectively block operation of the mine.
A year ago the EPA determined that Spruce No. 1 "raised significant environmental and water quality concerns" and halted further action on the company's Clean Water permit process. A subsequent legal maneuver appeared to set the stage for EPA and Arch to work out their differences regarding Spruce No. 1 and for EPA to determine if a revised mining plan could be developed that would comply with the Clean Water Act.
But Garvin's report said the mine should be halted because "mitigation is not likely to offset anticipated impacts."
If allowed to proceed, Spruce No.1 would clear more than 2,200 acres of forest, bury more than seven miles of headwater streams, and contaminate the downstream water supply. In mountaintop coal removal, the tops of mountains are literally blasted away to get at the coal seams.
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