Typhoon Durian, packing winds of up 150km per hour, headed toward the eastern Philippines yesterday, where residents prepared for the possibilty of floods and landslides.
The fourth typhoon to hit the northeastern Philippines in as many months, Durian was expected to intensify further before reaching the Philippines, passing close to the island Catanduanes and slamming ashore over Aurora Province tomorrow, forecasters said.
The Philippine weather bureau warned that the dangerous cyclone -- named after the pungent fruit native to Southeast Asia -- could become a "super typhoon" with winds stronger than 200kph and could reach metropolitan Manila.
"For the next day or two, it will continue to strengthen and could reach a super typhoon category," forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said.
He said the central Bicol region, about 300km southeast of Manila, was already feeling the effects of the typhoon with rains and winds.
Cruz warned residents in low-lying and coastal areas to watch out for storm surges, or big waves generated by strong winds.
In late September, Typhoon Xangsane left 230 people dead and missing in and around Manila.
Typhoon Cimaron killed 19 people and injured 58 others late last month.
Earlier this month, Chebi sliced through the central Luzon region, killing one.
About 20 typhoons and tropical storms lash the Philippines each year.
Mayor Noel Rosal of Legazpi city in northeastern Albay Province, one of the areas ravaged by the previous typhoons, said disaster response agencies were working overtime in order to prepare for the possibility of emergencies.
"Electric power hasn't even been restored to some villages. But now that the threat is here, we have no choice but to prepare," Rosal told Manila Radio DZRH.
In central Sorsogon Province, Mayor Guillermo So said the coast guard had barred ferries from leaving the ports in order to prevent damage and fatalities during the expected onslaught of bad weather.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese