Philippines Typhoon Kills Up To 240 People

Destruction from Typhoon Tembin in the Philippines
 this past week. 

While we're shivering our timbers in the Northeast U.S., the nearly never-ending typhoon season in the western Pacific continues onward. (This is normal, they get occasional typhoons for much of the year.)

Unlike the very destructive Atlantic hurricane season the tropical storm and typhoon season in the western Pacific was relatively tame in 2017, especially compared to recent years.

However, a tropical storm that later became a minimal typhoon named Tembin caused a terrible, deadly disaster over Christmas weekend in the Philippines. This storm's deadly punch came in the form of torretial rains that triggered flash floods and mudslides, killing somewhere between 160 and 250 people in the southern part of the nation.  (There is still some confusion on the number.)

Typhoon Tembin capped a terribly tragic Christmas season in the Philippines. Another typhoon killed 50 people and damaged or destroyed 10,000 or so homes in the central part of the nation a little over a week ago. Another storm sank a ferry this month to the northeast, killing five people. And in another tragedy not related to the weather, a shopping mall and office building fire claimed at least 37 lives. 

Typhoon Tembin threatened Vietnam, forcing evacuations there, but the typhoon dramatically weakened and ultimately steered clear of Vietnam, so it caused little damage and no injuries there.

According to the Category 6 weather blog, another typhoon might form in the western Pacific over the next couple of days and threaten the Philippines by around New Year's Day.