Storm Weakens after Ravaging Philippines
A typhoon swept across the northern Philippines killing at least nine people as trees, power lines and walls were toppled and flood waters spread far from riverbeds, but tens of thousands of people were evacuated in time. Officials fear the death toll may rise after Typhoon Koppu tore through the main island of Luzon on Sunday leaving several remote towns and villages isolated due to flash floods and toppled trees and boulders blocking roads. Power was down in many areas. The storm, downgraded to a category 1 typhoon from category 4, was moving slowly north on Monday and was forecast to weaken to a tropical storm within hours. "We haven't reached many areas. About 60 to 70 percent of our town is flooded, some as deep as 10 feet (3 metres).
Super Typhoon nears Philippines, Officials warn of Landslides
A powerful storm strengthened to a "super typhoon" on Sunday hours before it was set to slap the northeastern tip of the Philippines, prompting officials to warn of landslides and call on residents along the coast to evacuate to safer ground. Typhoon Noul is now a category five storm, packing winds of up to 185 kph (115 mph) near the centre, with gusts of up to 220 kph (137 mph), as it approaches the rice-producing province of Cagayan about 400 km (250 miles) north of the capital, Manila. It was moving faster at 20 kph as it neared the Philippines' northeastern coast, where it was expected to make landfall later on Sunday, and was estimated at 100 km east of Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province.
Typhoon Rips Philippines, Mass Evacuation Underway
A powerful typhoon roared into the eastern Philippines on Saturday, bringing lashing rain and strong winds that felled trees, ripped off tin roofs and toppled power lines in areas still bearing the scars of a super typhoon 13 months ago. About 1 million people had already fled to shelters by the time Typhoon Hagupit made landfall, in what a U.N. agency said was one of the world's biggest peacetime evacuations. As the storm barrelled in from the Pacific, power was cut across most of the central island of Samar and nearby Leyte province, including Tacloban City, considered ground zero of the devastating super typhoon Haiyan last year. "The wind is blowing so strongly, it's like it is whirling," Mabel Evardone, an official of the coastal town of Sulat in Eastern Samar, said on local radio.
Typhoon Batters Philippines, Thousand Flee to Manila
Rammasun hits eastern Rapu-Rapu island, heads towards Manila; Strongest storm after last year's Haiyan. Thousands evacuated from coastal villages. Thousands of people in the Philippines fled from their homes on Tuesday as the strongest typhoon to hit the country this year made landfall, toppling trees and cutting power as it made its way straight towards the capital, Manila. Parts of the Philippines are still recovering from Typhoon Haiyan, one of the biggest cyclones known to have made landfall anywhere, which killed more than 6,100 people last year, many in tsunami-like sea surges, and left millions homeless. Typhoon Rammasun, with gusts of up to 160 kph (99 mph) and sustained winds of 130 kph (81 mph) near its centre…
