Thousands flee before storm hits Philippines
Print Edition
Thousands of people evacuated villages in the central Philippines yesterday before one of the year’s strongest typhoons strikes the region.
Typhoon Haiyan intensified and accelerated as it moved closer to the country with sustained winds of 225 kilometers per hour and ferocious gusts of 260kph. It could further strengthen and pick up speed as it moves over the Pacific Ocean before slamming into the eastern province of Samar today, government forecaster Buddy Javier said.
As of 9pm, the eye of the typhoon was 338 kilometers southeast of Eastern Samar province’s Guiuan township. The storm was moving at 39 kph, up from its earlier speed of 33 kph.
The storm was not expected to directly hit Manila further north. The lowest alert in a four-level typhoon warning system was issued in the flood-prone capital area, meaning it could experience winds of up to 60kph and rain.
The US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center in Hawaii said it was the strongest tropical cyclone in the world this year.
President Benigno Aquino III warned people to leave high-risk areas, including 100 coastal communities where forecasters said the storm surge could reach up to 7 meters. He urged seafarers to stay in port.
Aquino also assured the public of war-like preparations: three C-130 air force cargo planes and 32 military helicopters and planes on standby, along with 20 navy ships.
Aquino ordered officials to aim for zero casualties, a goal often not met in an archipelago lashed by about 20 tropical storms each year, most of them deadly and destructive.
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