Philippines Typhoon: Super storm Mangkhut nears with 127mph winds forcing thousands to flee homes

Tom Powell15 September 2018

Thousands of people are fleeing their homes as the most powerful typhoon of the season closes in on the Philippines.

Typhoon Mangkhut is forecast to make landfall early on Saturday, bringing winds of more than 127mph to the country's main island.

Medical and emergency response teams have been placed on standby, heavy equipment mobilised and millions of pounds worth of relief goods prepared as the storm edges nearer.

"What's happening now is pre-emptive evacuation in certain areas," said Manuel Mamba, governor of the northeastern province of Cagayan, where schools and offices were closed and police, military and coastguard told to be ready.

"There are no people on the streets as they are preparing for the storm," he told a radio station.

A satellite image showing Super Typhoon Mangkhut approaching the Philippines
NASA/EPA

Mangkhut has been compared to Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated central areas of the Asian nation in 2013, killing 6,300 people.

President Rodrigo Duterte was given a briefing on emergency plans for a storm that could impact 4.3 million people, more than 800,000 of whom live in poverty.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is briefed on the dangers posed by the typhoon
EPA

"I worry especially for houses made of light materials," said Marilou Cayco, governor of Batanes, a chain of seven remote islands 240km off the mainland where she said up to 3,000 families could be "battered".

Rescuers ready their gear before Super Typhoon Mangkhut hits the main island of Luzon
REUTERS

Mangkhut has gathered strength since it struck the US Pacific territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana islands overnight on Monday, tearing down trees and power lines and leaving hundreds of people homeless.

Its next destination is the Philippines, which on average sees 20 tropical storms a year.

"We are not just looking at floods. It could generate a storm surge upon landfall," said Vicente Malano, administrator of Philippine weather agency PAGASA.

It comes as more than a million people have been evacuated from coastal areas in North and South Carolina in the US, with Hurricane Florence set to batter the region within hours.

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