In Nesat- Pedring's Wake, Typhoon Nalgae- Quiel Batters Beleaguered Philippines

In the wake of Typhoon Nesat, known as locally as "Pedring," the Philippines is struggling with yet another onslaught from Typhoon Naglae, or Quiel. Quiel is making landfall in Palanan Bay, in Isabela province with Signal 3 winds. Signal 3 means 101-180 kph or 75-115 mph wind speeds and is equivalent to a Category 1or 2 hurricane.

PAGASA (Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), the equivalent of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), listed Typhoon Quiel as having 160 km per hour (or 100 mph) interior winds. PAGASA has placed areas of Cagayan, Isabela, northern Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Mt. Province, Kalinga, Apayao and Abra under Signal 3 weather alerts.

Typhoon Quiel has a base of 500 km and will cover most of Luzon. Luzon is already under heavy flooding from Typhoon Pedring. Six dams continue to release water over the city. Quiel is supposed to bring as much rain as Nesat, 15-25 millimeters or up to one inch per hour.

Nesat left a reported 43 people dead, evacuated 300,000 and left thousands homeless last week. Many people climbed to their roofs to avoid the rising waters. Many abandoned their homes. 160,000 people remain in evacuation centers from Typhoon Nesat earlier this week. The Philippines National Inquirer says that Pedring took 43 lives, including 17 children and that 30 people remain missing. Damage in central Luzon, including the capital of Manilla, is heavy from Nesat's flooding last week. Seven cities are under a state of calamity.

Filipinos are usually in the first wave hit by northwest Pacific typhoons, also called tropical cyclones. Typhoon Nesat hit on the anniversary of Typhoon Ondoy, in 2009. The global name for Ondoy was Ketsana. That storm dropped 17.9 inches of rain on downtown Manilla in 24 hours. It was the worst rainfall in 43 years. 360 people died in this massive typhoon. Ondoy did $100 million in damages in the Philippines alone, before moving to Vietnam and Cambodia.

Filipinos are comparing Typhoon Pedring to Ondoy, saying that Pedring is worse, especially in Pampanga. The Pampanga River has flooded and destroyed 100,000 tons of rice in central Luzon alone. Much of the harvest is damaged. The flood waters have washed away much of the top soil. Mudslides are another huge concern. In 1998, Hurricane Mitch killed between 8,000 and 11,000 people in Central America, primarily via mudslides.

The concern for residents is that they will not heed the warnings to evacuate for Typhoon Quiel. Typhoons are a way of life for Filipinos and it seems to take a pretty massive storm to shake them.