Typhoon Hits Eastern Philippines, Causing Power Outages

Strong waves caused by Typhoon Vongfong batter houses along the coastline of Catbalogan city in the eastern Philippines on May, 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Simvale Sayat)
Strong waves caused by Typhoon Vongfong batter houses along the coastline of Catbalogan city in the eastern Philippines on May, 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Simvale Sayat)
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Typhoon Hits Eastern Philippines, Causing Power Outages

Strong waves caused by Typhoon Vongfong batter houses along the coastline of Catbalogan city in the eastern Philippines on May, 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Simvale Sayat)
Strong waves caused by Typhoon Vongfong batter houses along the coastline of Catbalogan city in the eastern Philippines on May, 14, 2020. (AP Photo/Simvale Sayat)

A strong typhoon on Tuesday slammed into the eastern Philippines, bringing high winds that caused power outages in several provinces.

Typhoon Conson carried sustained winds of 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour with gusts of up to 150 kph (93 mph), first making landfall at the coastal town of Hernani in Eastern Samar province, before hitting the nearby Samar province early Tuesday, the state weather service said.

As of Tuesday morning, the eye of the typhoon was in the vicinity of Masbate province’s Dimasalang town, reported The Associated Press.

“We only have minor damage here, thank God,” Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone said in a text message.

He said work had been suspended in government offices.

Power systems operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said some transmission lines were affected. Power outages were reported in Eastern Samar, Samar and Leyte provinces.

Local officials reported some flooding in Tacloban City.

The weather bureau warned of destructive winds and heavy rainfall within 18 hours in portions of seven provinces including Quezon, Masbate, Albay and Samar, which are under typhoon level three warning out of a five-step system.

The metro region of Philippines’ capital, Manila, is under level one warning, which means strong winds are expected within the next 36 hours.

Conson is forecast to weaken into a tropical storm Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

About 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippines each year, aside from seasonal monsoon rains. The country also lies in the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a region prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations.



Bangladesh Says Student Leaders Held for Their Own Safety

People take part in a song march to protest against the indiscriminate killings and mass arrest in Dhaka on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
People take part in a song march to protest against the indiscriminate killings and mass arrest in Dhaka on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Bangladesh Says Student Leaders Held for Their Own Safety

People take part in a song march to protest against the indiscriminate killings and mass arrest in Dhaka on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
People take part in a song march to protest against the indiscriminate killings and mass arrest in Dhaka on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Bangladesh said three student leaders had been taken into custody for their own safety after the government blamed their protests against civil service job quotas for days of deadly nationwide unrest.

Students Against Discrimination head Nahid Islam and two other senior members of the protest group were Friday forcibly discharged from hospital and taken away by a group of plainclothes detectives.

The street rallies organized by the trio precipitated a police crackdown and days of running clashes between officers and protesters that killed at least 201 people, according to an AFP tally of hospital and police data.

Islam earlier this week told AFP he was being treated at the hospital in the capital Dhaka for injuries sustained during an earlier round of police detention.

Police had initially denied that Islam and his two colleagues were taken into custody before home minister Asaduzzaman Khan confirmed it to reporters late on Friday.

"They themselves were feeling insecure. They think that some people were threatening them," he said.

"That's why we think for their own security they needed to be interrogated to find out who was threatening them. After the interrogation, we will take the next course of action."

Khan did not confirm whether the trio had been formally arrested.

Days of mayhem last week saw the torching of government buildings and police posts in Dhaka, and fierce street fights between protesters and riot police elsewhere in the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government deployed troops, instituted a nationwide internet blackout and imposed a curfew to restore order.

- 'Carried out raids' -

The unrest began when police and pro-government student groups attacked street rallies organized by Students Against Discrimination that had remained largely peaceful before last week.

Islam, 26, the chief coordinator of Students Against Discrimination, told AFP from his hospital bed on Monday that he feared for his life.

He said that two days beforehand, a group of people identifying themselves as police detectives blindfolded and handcuffed him and took him to an unknown location to be tortured before he was released the next morning.

His colleague Asif Mahmud, also taken into custody at the hospital on Friday, told AFP earlier that he had also been detained by police and beaten at the height of last week's unrest.

Police have arrested at least 4,500 people since the unrest began.

"We've carried out raids in the capital and we will continue the raids until the perpetrators are arrested," Dhaka Metropolitan Police joint commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarker told AFP.

"We're not arresting general students, only those who vandalized government properties and set them on fire."