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Tens of thousands of people are fleeing a typhoon in the Philippines. “Rai” was expected to make landfall early Thursday afternoon (local time), initially near the islands of Dinagat, Siargao and Bucas Grande 700 kilometers south of the capital Manila, according to the Southeast Asian island nation’s weather service. According to authorities, some 45,000 people left their homes to seek shelter in higher ground.
The typhoon, dubbed “Odette” in the Philippines, had recently intensified rapidly and was moving west-northwest with wind gusts of up to 230 kilometers per hour, the weather bureau said. Warnings about the storm were issued in more than 20 provinces and territories. Shipping in the affected areas has been suspended.
The Philippines is hit by an average of about 20 typhoons each year. The worst typhoon so far, “Haiyan,” had claimed the lives of more than 6,300 people in November 2013. More than four million people had to flee.
- source: hp with reports from k.at/picture: Image by Jeanette Burton from Pixabay
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