Gathering Storm (2020) s01e05 Episode Script

1
WILFREDO: This is
really dangerous,
really dangerous now.
WILFREDO: The door is
trying to open itself.
JOSH (off-screen): The screaming and
whistling from this
typhoon is unbelievable.
WILFREDO: We hope and pray
that this will stop soon.
JOSH (off-screen):
The sea is nuts.
Giant waves smashing the
sea wall of the building.
(thunder and lightning).
MITCH: Hello. Mitch here,
Heritage Charters.
NARRATOR: Mitch Torres is
on the motor vessel Dorado,
shipping supplies from
Guam to its neighboring
Pacific island of Rota.
A storm is brewing.
MITCH: It's about
2:00 in the morning.
I just left the dock about 30 minutes ago.
So just about to get a
little bit more rough.
There'll be a lot of action.
We're getting about 18 to 27 knots of wind
and about 5 to 7 foot swells.
LANDON: So we are heading
into the weather office.
This is my third night shift of the week.
NARRATOR: Meteorologist
Landon Aydlett is with NOAA,
the US government weather agency.
LANDON: We've been watching
this tropical cyclone and the
forecast models for over a week now.
It could become a typhoon.
NARRATOR: Located 4000
miles west of Hawaii,
Guam is in the Northern Mariana islands.
The new storm is rising in a
region of ocean known as the
breeding ground of typhoons.
With winds now over 40 miles
an hour it's classed as a
tropical storm and given a name.
Kammuri.
(radio chatter).
MAN: Roger, casting
off all lines.
NARRATOR: In Guam's
port, Apra Harbor,
boats stand by to take evasive action.
CAPTAIN: It's 1:22am in the
morning and the wind picked up
a little bit since 6pm.
Let's go check it out.
NARRATOR: These men are among
more than 1,000 marine workers
given cameras by National Geographic
at the start of the costliest
Pacific storm season on
record, to film storms
wherever they strike,
right around the globe on
a scale never seen before.
MAN (off-screen): Got some
swells coming in from the north.
NARRATOR: Now they're caught
in the path of a killer
Pacific typhoon.
On the US territory of Guam,
the NOAA Weather Station
watches over the most active tropical
storm zone on the planet.
LANDON: How's it going?
Is it a typhoon yet?
WOMAN: Still in the area.
NARRATOR: Typhoon is the name
used in the Pacific for a
major cyclone, known in the
Atlantic as a hurricane.
All eyes are on the new
storm, 150 miles from Guam
and already making its presence felt.
LANDON: The sea heights
have really shot up and it's
keeping very much in line with what the
models have been forecasting.
In the last half hour
we've shot up to nearly
20 foot of seas out there.
If people are not away
from the coast right now,
they need to be, because even
when I was out there earlier,
we were looking at seas
between 10 and 12 feet.
They've almost doubled
since five hours ago.
NARRATOR: As Storm Kammuri
demonstrates its growing power,
Guam goes on standby.
JUSTIN: So I'm the man!
The captain of Leatherneck for tonight
Brad is my deckhand.
NARRATOR: Justin Reyes
is captain of crew boat Leatherneck.
JUSTIN: Well as you
can see, the flag,
the wind is coming from the east side.
NARRATOR: Large ships must
be ready to leave port
ahead of the storm.
All crew who had gone ashore
are urgently recalled.
Justin's job is to ferry
them on the Leatherneck
back to their ships.
In 10 foot swells, it's an
operation that requires a
steady nerve and some split second timing.
♪
JUSTIN: That's it
for the 2100 run
LANDON (off-screen): Definitely winds have
increased across the region
and it's going to get a
little noisy out there,
so the windows and doors
have been rattling,
and they're going to shake pretty good
when this passes over.
NARRATOR: Guam has a higher
risk of typhoon or hurricane
strike than any other US territory.
In the open ocean between the
island and its neighbor Rota,
the swell is building.
MITCH: Good morning.
It's about 6:30
now in the morning.
I'm still on the way to Rota.
It's a little bit more rough.
If I go any faster, we're
going to start taking waves
over the bow, and I don't
want that right now.
CHASE: Good morning
everybody, carry on please.
NARRATOR: On Guam,
Captain Chris Chase,
US Coast Guard sector commander,
must keep a close watch
on the looming storm.
WOMAN (off-screen): We've got a timeline
on the seas and the winds.
CHASE: The port of Guam is the lifeblood
of not only this island,
but all of the islands
throughout the region.
NARRATOR: Guam's 210 square
miles of US soil is home to a
military base of vital
strategic significance.
Restricting the potential for damage
during a storm is critical.
In the port, the last
resort is to shut down,
sending ships to seek safety at sea.
CHASE: We haven't closed
the port officially yet.
But the worst thing that could
happen is if we leave the
ships in port, and something
drastic happens and one of
them sinks at the port, that's
going to impact the ability to
get cargo in and out of the port.
WOMAN: Sector 75-3 our
operations are verifying the harbor, over.
NARRATOR: A Coast Guard
response boat assesses the
changing sea state.
On board, Chris Grimes.
GRIMES: Yeah, we just headed
outside of the harbor,
Apra harbor, where our station's located,
just to evaluate the
conditions past the break wall.
We're just looking at the
sustained winds and swell
direction and swell height.
NARRATOR: This close
to where typhoons form,
there's a constant risk of
being taken by surprise.
CHASE (off-screen): We're always
at port heavy weather condition
Whisky, so we're always within
72 hours of having a storm
impact and they happen really quickly.
So we don't get the lead time
that some of the east coast
gets which makes things a
little bit more challenging
out this way.
GRIMES: The storm's located
to the east of us right now.
We are seeing increased
size of waves and winds,
and so things could change
pretty fast as far as our
operational capabilities
over the next few hours.
NARRATOR: Storm Kammuri's
progress is presenting a
growing threat to Guam.
With its strongest winds
just 24 hours away,
the threat level at the harbor is raised
to port condition Yankee.
All ships are ordered to leave.
Shipping containers are lowered in
preparation for storm force winds.
Our cameras are with one of
the tugs escorting ships to
open waters, the Patriot,
under Captain Mike Ulloa.
MIKE: This is the last navy
ship to be departing the harbor.
All the navy ships are gone
and all the commercial ships
are departed already.
If the wind was to really, really pick up,
the boat could end up banging
up against the dock over here,
destroy the dock, you know it could
destroy the navy dock on that side.
You know this is like a
lifeline for food, supplies,
vehicles, it all comes through the harbor.
We can't have any traffic jams
so to speak because somebody
didn't depart the harbor and their ship
ended up grounded somewhere.
That would be really bad.
NARRATOR: Guam islanders
know how quickly storms can
intensify over the warm waters
of the North West Pacific into
a destructive super-typhoon.
LANDON: We do have the
bragging rights for the most
tropical cyclones in any year,
and that's just the way of
life out here.
NARRATOR: Over
the last 20 years,
the north west Pacific has
spawned 94 super typhoons,
over four times more than the
number of equally powerful
Atlantic hurricanes.
It's earned this stretch of
ocean the name Typhoon Alley
LANDON: Typhoon Alley is a
common term for this region,
primarily because we have so
many typhoons come through
this area every year.
We average 30 to 35 tropical
cyclones every year.
Come typhoon season,
like we are right now,
you have storm after storm after storm.
NARRATOR: Guam's NOAA station
is a vital look-out post for
the US Navy's facility that
tracks all Pacific typhoons.
This is the Joint Typhoon Warning
Centre in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
MAN: Good afternoon,
DOJ TOPS JTWC.
NARRATOR: From here, the US
Navy issues weather warnings
to its assets right across the Pacific.
MAN (off-screen): It just looks like a
shadow of the overshooting top.
NARRATOR: Our cameras are
on the watch floor with
Lieutenant Caitlin Fine,
where Kammuri is the center of attention.
CAITLIN: This is an infra-red
image here on the left that
shows tropical storm Kammuri.
Satellites are our main observation tool.
You look for areas where
convection or thunderstorms
are occurring, you look for areas where
you can already see rotation.
Then you start to look for
the beginnings of a system.
NARRATOR: One special
satellite has a vital role in
monitoring storm development
in Typhoon Alley.
Himawari 8.
LANDON (off-screen): The Himawari
satellite is the geostationary satellite
over our region and that gives
us one continuous snapshot.
So we see a beautiful frame of
weather across the whole area
and that's never interrupted.
NARRATOR: Data from the
satellite is showing that Guam
will be spared by Kammuri.
Its outer band of winds will
only graze the island as it
continues along Typhoon Alley to bear
down on a far bigger target.
The Philippines.
A country more exposed to typhoons
than anywhere in the world.
Typhoon Kammuri is now on a course
that looks all too familiar.
COAST GUARD: We're looking
for any damage to the pier,
any damage to any of the vessels.
NARRATOR: The Pacific island
of Guam has been spared the
full force of tropical storm Kammuri.
CHASE: The storm has
basically passed.
We still have winds above
30 knots in the area.
But we've got teams out
doing port assessments,
we've got boat crews
that are going to go out.
Everything we can do so we can
make sure it's safe to bring
ships back into the port and
start conducting operations
inside the ports as well.
MITCH: Good afternoon.
Mitch again.
It's about 50 miles back to Guam.
A lot of whitecaps, but not
as bad as it was this morning.
It was like way big this morning.
NARRATOR: Moving west, Kammuri
is supercharged by the warm
waters of the Pacific.
Within a day it reaches
full typhoon strength.
MAN: Right there?
That's the one.
NARRATOR: Kammuri's next destination
along Typhoon Alley seems inevitable
LANDON: Anything that
develops in our region,
a lot of times goes
towards the Philippines.
NARRATOR: 1500
miles west of Guam,
the Philippines spans the
breadth of Typhoon Alley.
A cluster of cities
around the capital Manila,
on the northern island of
Luzon is the most densely
populated region of the country.
On average, 20 major
storms enter Philippine waters every year.
ALDRIN: It's 7:30 in the morning
I will show you what we are doing.
NARRATOR: The crew of
fishing boat Ron Kirby Two
are 50 miles off Luzon's
exposed north west coast.
First mate Aldrin Apa has one
of our cameras with him for
their week-long trip.
ALDRIN: The fish are
so strong, this is hard
NARRATOR: Hauling the net
by hand takes 30 men.
ALDRIN: That's a goliath!
NARRATOR: After a week at sea,
they've hit a lucky streak.
ALDRIN: We are
getting a good catch
NARRATOR: As well as the
regular haul of mackerel,
today's catch includes some
highly valued Skipjack tuna.
MAN: We have caught enough fish.
To fill a warehouse.
PEREZ: Good morning it's the
29th of November and it's
already 5:55 in the morning
out here in the Philippines.
I'm on my way to work and I can
see one of our weather forecasters.
NARRATOR: Chris Perez is
a meteorologist with the
Philippines weather agency, PAGASA.
PEREZ: We are not yet late.
NARRATOR: Their mission is to provide
early warnings of any threats,
and Kammuri is already causing concern.
PEREZ: What we have here is a
model of the wind at the upper
level of the atmosphere.
So if this particular
sub-tropical ridge persists,
the typhoon is likely to move
westward instead of moving north.
NARRATOR: Kammuri's track
is dangerously close to the
country's capital Metro Manila,
and the densely populated center,
raising fears of a repeat of a tragedy,
that the Philippines can never forget.
2013's Typhoon Haiyan.
Haiyan's ferocious power
was captured on camera by an
American storm chaser, Josh Morgerman.
JOSH: I've been in the inner
cores of 49 hurricanes and
typhoons all over the world,
and super typhoon Haiyan was
I mean, it was just off the charts.
NARRATOR: With devastating winds
gusting at 235 miles per hour
this was one of the most
powerful typhoons ever recorded.
LANDON: Ever since super
typhoon Haiyan ravaged the
Philippines a number of years ago,
people are shell-shocked about another
typhoon hitting the Philippines.
NARRATOR: Haiyan claimed
more than 6,000 lives,
and a million homes were destroyed.
Even for this disaster prone country,
it was the worst storm ever recorded.
Typhoon Kammuri is on a
collision course with the Philippines.
Getting 150 miles closer every day.
The fishing boat Ron Kirby
2 is almost 100 miles from
Infanta, its home port.
ALDRIN: We are a long
way from the islands
NARRATOR: With good
catches and calm seas,
Aldrin and his crew head
further from shore into the
warm waters of the Philippines Sea.
MAN: It's just
explodes after this,
so that's all I'm going to go with.
NARRATOR: In Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii, for Lieutenant Fine,
the latest satellite images
of Kammuri are attracting close scrutiny.
In storms of this power,
clouds are pushed so high
above the earth, they freeze.
CAITLIN: You have warm,
moist air at the ground,
and that air rises.
As that air rises, it cools
and then condenses and then it
rises further and it rises so high
that it will actually freeze.
NARRATOR: Infrared images
captured by the US Navy show
that Kammuri has hit a new extreme.
At its cloud tops it's
164.9 degrees below zero,
the lowest temperature
ever documented on earth.
It's an ominous clue to
Typhoon Kammuri's dormant power.
JOSH: I'm driving down east
coast of the Bicol region in
the Philippines.
NARRATOR: American storm
chaser Josh Morgerman is back
in the Philippines, acting on
a hunch that Typhoon Kammuri
will turn into a monster storm.
JOSH: The Philippines Sea
has magical properties.
Any cyclone that goes into it
usually turns into a monster.
Now super typhoon Haiyan, I
didn't get inside the calm eye,
and that's the part that has
the meaningful scientific data,
that's where we measure the
air pressure and stuff like that.
In Kammuri, I'm going to get it.
I'm heading toward Tobacco
city or Legazpi City.
I'm thinking that's where the
center of typhoon Kammuri is
going to come ashore.
PEREZ: So good morning.
Today is the first day of
December and it's 7am here.
So it's a Sunday, I am
actually off duty but we are
required to report to work,
especially when we have a
tropical cyclone that is
threatening the country.
NARRATOR: Typhoon Kammuri
is expected to make landfall
tomorrow night.
Where it will hit is less certain.
PEREZ: The typhoon is expected
to move generally west,
but we're not ruling out the
possibility that the typhoon
may also move more to the
north or more to the south.
This cone of uncertainty.
JARABE: Good morning,
I am Captain Jarabe
I am getting the weather forecast
for Typhoon Kammuri
NARRATOR: Kammuri's projected
course cuts straight across
the Philippines' busiest shipping lanes.
More Filipinos are employed as seamen
than any other nationality.
JARABE: We will plot the path of the
typhoon so that we know the direction
and if we are on a safe path.
MAN: We are
monitoring the weather.
For Typhoon Kammuri.
ALDRIN: See the waves?
The weather is getting bad
NARRATOR: For Aldrin's crew,
fishing has been good.
But their boats are ill
equipped for stormy seas.
The risk of costly damage, or worse,
is now too great for them to carry on.
ALDRIN: We are heading back home
We are heading there because
the weather out at sea is getting worse
NARRATOR: Kammuri is growing.
As it moves west at over 300 miles a day,
powerful storm force winds
are being felt more than
100 miles from its center.
For the country's meteorologists,
there's no let up.
Typhoons can hit the
Philippines all year round.
PEREZ: We have monitored about 21
tropical cyclones already this year.
NARRATOR: In 2013 Typhoon
Haiyan revealed the
Philippines unique vulnerability.
In a country formed of
thousands of islands,
there's no escape from the devastating
floods that follow the wind.
LANDON: The main killing
feature of Haiyan was not so
much the winds but it was the storm surge.
NARRATOR: As typhoons
approach from the sea,
their powerful winds drive
a wall of water onshore.
LANDON: I think describing a
storm surge as a tsunami in a
typhoon is a fairly
good way to explain it.
Over the coming years and decades,
every inch of increased sea
level will make coastal areas
more susceptible to flooding
or large wave events.
ALDRIN: I'm very
happy to be home
I have not been home for a long time
NARRATOR: When a
typhoon threatens,
all fishing boats are ordered
to report to their home port.
PEREZ: In Infanta, Aldrin must
register Ron Kirby 2 and find
a safe mooring to weather the storm.
MAN: What time are you leaving?
ALDRIN: 12:30 sir.
NARRATOR: PAGASA is in a race
to warn the public about an
impact that now seems inevitable.
PEREZ: Over these past 12 or
24 hours it has moved faster
than we have anticipated, and
as of the weather bulletin
this morning, we expect this
one to cause significant or
catastrophic damage.
MAN: Nice day.
NARRATOR: In an area
they call Typhoon Alley,
as a new storm builds in menace,
cameras supplied by National
Geographic to weather experts
and marine workers, capture
the countdown to impact.
MAN: It is good.
Most of the boats
have been taken away from shore.
The residents look prepared.
NARRATOR: In the Philippines,
coast guards clear the beaches
as all maritime activity is suspended.
The biggest typhoon of the
year is due to strike tonight.
PEREZ: In some parts of the Becol region
and Andora area and some parts of Samar.
NARRATOR: As with all
typhoons to hit the country,
Kammuri is given a Filipino name, Tisoy.
At PAGASA data from satellites
is a valuable tool in their
efforts to issue the most
accurate weather warnings,
but on its own, it's not enough.
ELLA: We can't get the full
intensity of the typhoon based
alone on satellite images.
This is just one portion of
everything that is happening
because you know forecasting
is still forecasting,
it's not 100% science.
WILFREDO: We are going now to
the coastal community
of Tabaco City
NARRATOR: Willy Tuazon is one
of PAGASA's specialist team
of storm observers.
Their unique role is to get as
close to a typhoon as possible
to gather live data.
WILFREDO: So we are here
in the port area of Tabaco
NARRATOR: It's a vital job
that carries a big risk.
WILFREDO: The wind is gusting
at 50 kilometers per hour
NARRATOR: While
observing Typhoon Haiyan,
one of the team lost their life.
Kammuri is now just 150
miles from the coast,
and growing in strength.
As its wind speeds increase
to 105 miles per hour,
it hits typhoon category two,
and Kammuri is showing signs
that it will go on growing.
ELLA: As of 0600 UTC or 2pm
here Philippine time
it just formed its eye
NARRATOR: The eye is a
clearing at the center of the
storm's vortex, and the seat of its power.
ELLA: When a typhoon
develops an eye.
It intensifies.
NARRATOR: Kammuri is
becoming a monster.
Its powerful storm force winds
stretch 100 miles in every
direction from its 30 mile wide eye.
The storm is expected to
slam into southern Luzon,
threatening the cities
of Legazpi and Tabaco.
WILFREDO: So we are
here in City Hall of Tabaco
We are going to the rooftop
NARRATOR: Willy's chosen a
vantage point on the City Hall
for a clear view of
the typhoon's approach.
WILFREDO: Typhoon
Tisoy will enter here
NARRATOR: The destructive
potential of category two
storms is ten times greater
than at low category one.
As the outer bands of winds arrive,
a siren warns the city of
Tabaco to prepare for the worst.
WILFREDO: Now the wind
sensor is ready for Tisoy.
NARRATOR: Impact is expected
in just three hours.
ELLA: Everyone here
in the operation,
we thought that this one will weaken,
but then we're all wrong, it strengthened.
ALDRIN: The typhoon is
strong so make sure
to be ready and alert tonight
NARRATOR: The Ron Kirby 2's
home port of Infanta is in the
path of the typhoon's vast wind field.
First mate, Aldrin's priority
is to make the boat secure.
ALDRIN: We need
to take the things that are
small and prone to damage
NARRATOR: In typhoon Haiyan,
thousands of fishermen lost
their livelihoods when
their boats were destroyed.
If the boat is left unmanned,
there's a risk that it will
tear loose of its mooring.
Aldrin needs a member of
his crew to stay aboard,
to keep it secure.
ALDRIN: See that red light?
That means its recording.
CHRISTOPHER: So
it's filming now?
My name is Christopher de la Cruz
The time is now 6:10pm
NARRATOR: The
youngest crew member,
Christopher is already
an old hand at the job.
CHRISTOPHER: I have already
experienced many typhoons
Despite the heavy rains
I don't get very nervous anymore
You need to be alert in every typhoon
and aware of what is happening around you
During Typhoon Yolanda
our boat lost its mooring rope
so I had to dive in and swim for it
NARRATOR: Christopher will
stay with the boat to weather
the storm and to keep our camera with him,
while Aldrin must look after his family,
sole responsibility for the Ron
Kirby 2 rests with Christopher.
MAN: Good evening everyone
We need to let you know
that we are on a storm signal number two
and the landfall will happen tonight
MAN: We need to evacuate.
Especially those who live by the sea
PEREZ: We had some of our
radar meteorologists analyze
the recent image and it shows
that the northern part of Samar
is just about 40 kilometers away
from the eyewall of the storm.
Now, the eyewall's the
area with the most rains,
heaviest rains and the strongest wind.
And we are expecting
more rains to pour in,
as this typhoon moves west.
We expect really some
damage over that area.
NARRATOR: The Philippines
most populated region is
being prepared for the worst.
PEREZ: We already have a storm
signal number two over Metro Manila
and we're expecting a higher
warning signal to be hoisted,
not only over Metro Manila,
but in the neighboring provinces as well.
NARRATOR: Storm chaser,
Josh Morgerman,
has arrived at the city of Legazpi.
JOSH (off-screen): Legazpi City
just before nightfall.
Typhoon Kammuri is coming in
this direction and this place
is gonna get hit hard.
NARRATOR: In the Philippines,
the biggest typhoon of the
season is hours from impact.
The National Weather Agency, PAGASA,
is on an emergency footing.
PEREZ: I've been working
for about 24 hours already.
I am planning to stay here until tomorrow.
We need to show that we have enough
working bodies here at the office.
NARRATOR: Drawing up energy
from an area of extremely warm
ocean, Kammuri is about to
become more powerful than any
storm to hit the Philippines this year.
Just hours from striking
land with Tabaco City and
Legazpi City firmly in its cross hairs,
it leaps in strength to category three.
CHAD: And this is going
to be a 205 kph storm
as it goes over Legazpi City.
JOSH (off-screen):
Legazpi City, 7:25 pm.
The wind is absolutely
pounding this hotel.
When I'm storm chasing,
there's two things I need from a hotel.
One is that it's a good location,
so I can observe the storm
and the other is that it's not
gonna come crashing down
at the height of the storm.
The typhoon is probably
another hour or two away,
the inner core, but I think
this one's gonna be really,
really serious.
Gonna go outside, take a look.
WILFREDO: It's 8:30pm
The wind is getting stronger
It's getting angry
NARRATOR: In Tabaco City,
Willie's observation team
records gusts of 150 miles per hour.
WILFREDO: The atmospheric
pressure is still going down.
ROBB: Oh, our emergency
broadcast has sounded.
They issued a red rainfall
warning over the provinces who
are in the eyewall just here.
PEREZ: Most of us are very worried
about the possible casualties.
NARRATOR: As Kammuri
pummels the town,
phone contact with PAGASA HQ is lost.
WILFREDO: Everything
is moving inside this building
The door is trying to open itself
We don't know what is happening outside
(crashing).
WILFREDO: That is
the sound of a roof
We hope and pray that this will stop soon.
JOSH: The sea is nuts.
Giant waves smashing the
sea wall and the building.
NARRATOR: In the darkness,
a ten foot storm surge smashes ashore.
Kammuri has made another leap in strength.
With wind speeds now
at 130 miles per hour,
it hits category four.
In the past 24 hours, its
damage potential has become
100 times greater.
JOSH: It is going nuts now,
flying debris everywhere.
It's just really dangerous.
The wind screaming and whistling
from this typhoon is unbelievable
NARRATOR: With gusts
over 150 miles per hour,
even the most solidly
constructed buildings in
Legazpi are now under assault.
MAN: Okay, come
on, quick, quick.
(rattling).
JOSH: And then all of a sudden,
you hear it start to die down.
That means, mission accomplished.
JOSH (off-screen): We're in
the eye of typhoon Kammuri.
Even though the winds have
died down, the ocean is nuts.
You can feel the walls rattling,
there's waves smashing into the building.
The crazy thing is, we're only
halfway through the storm
and I know the backside, those
winds on the other side of the
storm are gonna come
rushing in in at any minute,
like a sledgehammer.
JOSH (off-screen): And
we're back in the typhoon.
We're going into the eyewall
at the back side of it.
NARRATOR: The eye of the storm
is encircled by the eyewall,
a band of Kammuri's most powerful winds.
JOSH (off-screen): We've now lost power,
the generators are out and
we're in the, we're deep in
the eyewall of this nasty
typhoon in the dark.
Folks look concerned.
NARRATOR: As the storm
moves over Legazpi,
its vast wind fields draw
closer to fishing boat,
Ron Kirby 2.
CHRISTOPHER: 4:58.
CHRISTOPHER: We are starting
to feel Typhoon Tisoy.
It's raining hard now and very windy.
WILFREDO: It's 6am,
December 3 and
this is what
Tabaco looks like.
After Typhoon Kammuri
NARRATOR: Category four
typhoon Kammuri has been
blasting a path across the Philippines.
The city of Legazpi bore the full impact
of the storm's eyewall.
After four hours of violent winds
that topped 130 miles per hour,
the city awakes to a trail of destruction
and the most damaging
effects are still to come.
As the storm surge recedes,
flood waters from a foot of rainfall
are swamping the town.
REPORTER: A typhoon Kammuri is ripping
across southeastern Luzan.
WEATHERMAN: Largest storm on
our planet right now making
its way through the areas of the
central provinces of the Philippines.
NARRATOR: Kammuri is
far from finished.
The Philippines is a mass of islands,
allowing typhoons an endless
supply of the warm ocean water
that fuels them.
Rather than losing energy when
they pass over land, here,
typhoons can recharge
and grow more powerful.
MAN: I am here at my home.
We cannot go out
NARRATOR: Now, it's Infanta's
turn to be lashed by
120 mile per hour winds.
MAN: The wind and
rain are very strong
NARRATOR: While fishermen are
locked down in their homes.
Aboard the Ron Kirby 2,
18 year old, Christopher,
has one of our cameras running.
CHRISTOPHER: I'll show you
what is happening outside
NARRATOR: Christopher
is under orders to make sure
the boat, on which the
livelihoods of the entire crew
depend isn't torn from its
moorings during the storm.
CHRISTOPHER: Hi team.
Time now is 1100
Now it's really getting very strong
NARRATOR: Drawing force from the
inland seas, Kammuri is still
a category three typhoon.
And getting closer by the hour.
170 miles south, Willie's
observation team is moving
out of Tabaco City.
To start their assessment
of the storm's impact,
they head to the place that
bore the brunt of its power.
WILFREDO: We are
going to a coastal
community in Sorsogon.
NARRATOR: This beach was
Ground Zero for Kammuri in the
Philippines, the point of first impact.
(speaking native language).
NARRATOR: The sea defenses
were no match for its category
four winds and the ten foot
wall of water forced onshore.
WILFREDO: Were you here
during the typhoon?
MAN: Yes.
Water was all over this here
MAN: I've never experienced
anything like this before
NARRATOR: At PAGASA, reports
from across the country start
to reveal Kammuri's impact
on the Philippines and most
important of all, the cost in lives.
PEREZ: The thing that we're
looking for is the zero
casualty scenario and that
would be probably one of the
greatest rewards that we can
ever here in PAGASA, you know,
like achieve a zero casualty status.
NARRATOR: The team has been on
24-7 storm watch, but finally,
the end is in sight.
PEREZ: We have here the latest
animation showing that Tisoy
is expected to exit the
country tomorrow early morning.
NARRATOR: Kammuri's assault on the
Philippines lasted 36 hours.
The 20th and most powerful
typhoon to enter
Philippine waters this year.
It claimed 17 lives.
Fisherman Aldrin, is heading to Infanta.
He and his crew are eager
to get back to work,
so long as their boat and
youngest crewman survived.
CHRISTOPHER: Hi everyone. Let us start by
greeting you to a pleasant morning
and to all God gave us
So, finally the coast guard gave us
clearance to go back to
the sea and do our job
ALDRIN: We'll be
leaving at 12:30
JOSH (off-screen): The Philippines is
by far, absolutely
the world's hot spot for
violent tropical cyclones,
it's unlike anywhere else.
But for these folks living
here, unfortunately,
they know that before they're
even done cleaning up after
this one, another one's coming.