Super typhoon slams into Philippines
Philippines— Typhoon Mangkhut slammed into the country’s northeastern coast early Saturday, with witnesses saying the storm’s ferocious winds and blinding rain ripped tin roof sheets off houses and knocked out power at the start of the onslaught.
The typhoon made landfall before dawn in the coastal town of Baggao in Cagayan province on the northern tip of Luzon island, an agricultural region of flood-prone rice plains and mountain provinces often hit by landslides.
More than 5 million people were at risk from the storm, which the Hawaiibased Joint Typhoon Warning Center categorizes as a super typhoon with powerful winds and gusts equivalent to a category 5 Atlantic hurricane.
There were no reports of major damage or casualties in the region, where a masTUGUEGARAO, sive evacuation from highrisk areas was carried out over two days.
With a huge raincloud band 560 miles wide, combined with seasonal monsoon rains, the typhoon was expected to bring intense rain that could set off landslides and flash floods. Storm warnings have been raised in almost all the provinces across the Luzon, including the capital, Manila, restricting sea and air travel.
Before it hit the island, Mangkhut was tracked late Friday with sustained winds of 127 mph and gusts of up to 158 mph, forecasters said.
Even if the typhoon weakens after slamming ashore, its winds will remain very destructive, government forecaster Rene Paciente said.
“It can lift cars; you can’t stand, you can’t even crawl against that wind,” Paciente said.
The Hong Kong Observatory predicts Mangkhut will hit China’s mainland early Monday.