Evacuations as typhoon nears Philippines
Philippine authorities on Monday ordered more than 100,000 people living along the country’s east coast to evacuate as approaching Typhoon Nesat forced schools to close and flights to be cancelled. Nesat was expected to make landfall Tuesday morning along the vulnerable eastern edge of the Philippines’ main Luzon island, then dump heavy rains hundreds of kilometres (miles) inland to areas including the capital of Manila.
“We expect hazards such as landslides, flash floods, strong winds and storm surges,” senior state weather forecaster Robert Sawi told reporters. He said storm alert warnings had been hoisted over most of Luzon, home to more than 48 million people, or more than half the Philippines’ population.
The weather bureau warned that Nesat, already packing winds of 120 kilometres (75 miles) an hour near its centre and gusts of up to 150 kilometres an hour, would continue to build in strength while at sea. Nesat was expected to unload between up to 25 millimetres (one inch) of rain an hour at a radius of 650 kilometres (400 miles), according to the bureau.