Typhoon Ketsana wreaks worst flooding in 40 years in the Philippines

A vast swath of the northern Philippines, including the capital of Manila, is already saturated from the worst floods in 40 years wrought by Ketsana and any more rain poses danger.

SHOOT: I visited the Philippines a few years ago, and that visit formed the basis and inspiration for my Cormac McCarthy-esque climate thriller HOLIDAY. You can read it on Authonomy here: http://www.authonomy.com/ViewBook.aspx?bookid=8971

clipped from news.yahoo.com MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of villagers fled the likely path of a powerful typhoon bearing down Friday on the Philippines, as the government braced for the possibility of a second storm disaster just days after one that killed hundreds. Heavy rain drenched mountainous coastal regions in the northeast as Typhoon Parma tracked ominously toward heavily populated areas still sodden after the earlier storm. Parma was forecast to hit the east coast on Saturday, packing sustained winds of up to 120 mph (195 kph) and gusts up to 140 mph (230 kph) — enough destructive power for officials to fear it may develop into a "super-typhoon," the government's weather bureau said. She declared a nationwide "state of calamity" — extending one applied to Manila and 25 provinces hit by the earlier storm. The declaration frees up funds to respond to emergencies.