Parma sets its sights on Philippines

       President Gloria Arroyo placed the Philippines under a "state of calamity" yesterday and terrified people fled their homes as powerful Typhoon Parma threatened to hit the country.
       The typhoon is expected to unleash more carnage today following deadly floods.
       After being accused of not preparing her country adequately for last Saturday's storm that killed 293 people in and around Manila, Mrs Arroyo also ordered forced evacuations of towns in the direct path of Typhoon Parma.
       "Our prayers are that no lives will be lost," said Bella Angara, the governor of the northern Philippine province of Aurora, which is one of the areas predicted to feel Parma's full force this afternoon.
       The government warned Parma would tear down houses in and around Aurora,and is likely to bring more heavy rain to the nation's capital, Manila, and nearby areas that were still recovering from Saturday's record floods.
       Nearly 400,000 people remained in under-prepared schools, gymnasiums and other makeshift government shelters after Typhoon Ketsana unleashed the heaviest rains in more than four decades on Manila.
       The rains from Parma threatened to worsen already squalid conditions and further hamper relief supplies for the survivors in those shelters.
       Many parts of Manila and neighbouring regions also remain under water with mud, debris and rubbish still blocking drains - so any more rain could lead to another surge in flood waters.
       In one town that remained in chestdeep water on the outskirts of Manila,people were fleeing their homes in preparation for another surge in the floods.
       "I ordered this morning the evacuation of people in flood-stricken areas... thousands have already transferred to public schools and my own rice milling compound," said San Pedro mayor Calixto Cataquiz.
       Mrs Arroyo also ordered the evacuation of those living in coastal and low-lying regions further north on the Philippines' main island of Luzon.
       "Weneed that preventative evacuation,"Mrs Arroyo said in a televised conference on preparations for Parma.
       Her spokesman, Cerge Remonde, said later that Mrs Arroyo had declared a state of calamity for the whole country,which allows local authorities to tap emergency funds and the national government to impose price controls.
       Large areas of the Philippines, including Manila, are already under a state of calamity because of Ketsana.
       "[But] it is much better if the whole country [is under a state of calamity] so that local governments are prepared,"Mr Remonde said.
       About 1.8 million people could be exposed to Parma's worst winds, according to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
       "We are extremely concerned," said spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs.
       The government weather station said that Parma, which was originally forecast to hit Aurora this morning, was now predicted to make landfall this afternoon after its pace slowed.
       Meanwhile, Thailand is sending rice,medicine and doctors to help storm and earthquake victims in the Philippines and Indonesia.
       Vimol Kidchob, director-general of the Information Department, said the government will transport rice and medicine worth more than 5 million baht to help victims of Ketsana in the Philippines.
       It will also deploy doctors to treat affected people. The government is waiting for the Philippines to pass on its medical demands so that the government can provide the required specialists.
       Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said the government will also donate medicine worth 3 million baht to help earthquake victims in Indonesia and will deploy officials from the Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand and the Thai Red Cross Society to give assistance to Indonesian authorities.
       Meanwhile, a storm sank a Thai fishing boat named Porn Phitsanu 91 in Malaysian waters yesterday. The boat left Pattani with 26 crew members on board to receive fish from another boat.Thirteen crewmen were drowned.