Hurricane, Typhoon Force Evacuations from Cuba to Vietnam
2022-09-28
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1Powerful ocean storms that take place mainly in the western Atlantic Ocean are called hurricanes.
2People in Vietnam and other Pacific countries call similar storms in the western Pacific Ocean typhoons.
3The weather events bring high winds, large waves and heavy rain.
4They also cause widespread destruction and displace thousands.
5Early Tuesday, Hurricane Ian landed in Cuba's western city of Pinar del Rio where officials had set up shelters for 50,000 people.
6In Havana's El Fanguito neighborhood near the Almendares River, health worker Abel Rodrigues and others gathered their belongings.
7He told the Associated Press, "I hope we escape this one because it would be the end of us. We already have so little."
8The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Ian's wind speed reached 205 kilometers per hour and the storm surge was as high as 4.3 meters along Cuba's coasts.
9The storm is expected to strengthen even more over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
10The wind speed could reach 225 kilometers per hour when the hurricane makes landfall in the U.S. state of Florida late on Tuesday.
11Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said an estimated 2.5 million people were under evacuation orders.
12"When you have five to 10 feet of storm surge, that is not something you want to be a part of," DeSantis said Tuesday. "And Mother Nature is a very fearsome adversary."
13At the Kennedy Space Center, NASA moved its moon rocket from the launch area back into a large building for protection from the storm.
14And the airports in Tampa and St. Petersburg announced they would be closed Tuesday afternoon.
15In the Southeast Asian country of Vietnam, officials closed airports, set a curfew, and evacuated over 800,000 people near the coastlines on Tuesday.
16The order came as Typhoon Noru was crossing the South China Sea to hit Vietnam after leaving at least eight dead in the Philippines.
17Officials said Noru is expected to make landfall in Vietnam on Wednesday with a wind speed of 180 kilometers per hour.
18An official from the weather agency said, "The storm is so strong that we've started feeling the impact even when it has not made landfall yet."
19The typhoon is expected to hit the central areas of Quang Ngai, where a major oil refinery is located, and Quang Nam, home to the World Heritage city of Hoi An.
20About 270,000 military service members were placed on standby for emergencies.
21And Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told officials:
22"We don't have much time left. The storm is intensifying so our responses must be stronger and faster."
23Noru was the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year where it killed at least eight people when it made landfall on Sunday night.
24Among the dead were five government workers who drowned while trying to rescue villagers.
25The typhoon flooded farmland and communities and damaged an estimated $21 million of crops, mainly rice.
26Nearly 80,000 people were moved to emergency shelters across the main Luzon Island, Philippine officials said.
27And local television broadcasts showed police cutting up fallen trees blocking roads and people removing wreckage with their hands.
28Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. asked "Is this climate change?" in a meeting with emergency officials.
29"We have kept watch on these storms for a long time but it wasn't like this before... This is something I have to deal with," he added.
30I'm Jill Robbins.
1Powerful ocean storms that take place mainly in the western Atlantic Ocean are called hurricanes. People in Vietnam and other Pacific countries call similar storms in the western Pacific Ocean typhoons. The weather events bring high winds, large waves and heavy rain. They also cause widespread destruction and displace thousands. 2Hurricane Ian 3Early Tuesday, Hurricane Ian landed in Cuba's western city of Pinar del Rio where officials had set up shelters for 50,000 people. 4In Havana's El Fanguito neighborhood near the Almendares River, health worker Abel Rodrigues and others gathered their belongings. He told the Associated Press, "I hope we escape this one because it would be the end of us. We already have so little." 5The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Ian's wind speed reached 205 kilometers per hour and the storm surge was as high as 4.3 meters along Cuba's coasts. 6The storm is expected to strengthen even more over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The wind speed could reach 225 kilometers per hour when the hurricane makes landfall in the U.S. state of Florida late on Tuesday. 7Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said an estimated 2.5 million people were under evacuation orders. "When you have five to 10 feet of storm surge, that is not something you want to be a part of," DeSantis said Tuesday. "And Mother Nature is a very fearsome adversary." 8At the Kennedy Space Center, NASA moved its moon rocket from the launch area back into a large building for protection from the storm. And the airports in Tampa and St. Petersburg announced they would be closed Tuesday afternoon. 9Typhoon Noru 10In the Southeast Asian country of Vietnam, officials closed airports, set a curfew, and evacuated over 800,000 people near the coastlines on Tuesday. The order came as Typhoon Noru was crossing the South China Sea to hit Vietnam after leaving at least eight dead in the Philippines. 11Officials said Noru is expected to make landfall in Vietnam on Wednesday with a wind speed of 180 kilometers per hour. An official from the weather agency said, "The storm is so strong that we've started feeling the impact even when it has not made landfall yet." 12The typhoon is expected to hit the central areas of Quang Ngai, where a major oil refinery is located, and Quang Nam, home to the World Heritage city of Hoi An. 13About 270,000 military service members were placed on standby for emergencies. And Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told officials: "We don't have much time left. The storm is intensifying so our responses must be stronger and faster." 14Noru was the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year where it killed at least eight people when it made landfall on Sunday night. Among the dead were five government workers who drowned while trying to rescue villagers. 15The typhoon flooded farmland and communities and damaged an estimated $21 million of crops, mainly rice. Nearly 80,000 people were moved to emergency shelters across the main Luzon Island, Philippine officials said. And local television broadcasts showed police cutting up fallen trees blocking roads and people removing wreckage with their hands. 16Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. asked "Is this climate change?" in a meeting with emergency officials. "We have kept watch on these storms for a long time but it wasn't like this before... This is something I have to deal with," he added. 17I'm Jill Robbins. 18Hai Do adapted this report for VOA Learning English from Associated Press and Reuters sources. 19_____________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21surge - n. an abnormal rise in the level of the sea along a coast caused by the onshore winds of a severe cyclone 22evacuation - n. the removal of people from a dangerous place for their safety 23adversary - n. someone you are competing with, or arguing or fighting against. 24landfall - n. the act of first seeing or reaching land from the sea 25_____________________________________________________________________ 26We want to hear from you. 27We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.