A powerful typhoon is blowing closer to the northern Philippines, forcing thousands of evacuations and a halt to sea travel ahead of torrential rains and tidal surges up to three metres.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The strongest winds at the storm's centre are expected to remain offshore on Tuesday as Typhoon Doksuri barrels northwest off Cagayan and Batanes provinces, but they may hit outlying islands in the archipelago.
The typhoon's 680 kilometre-wide rainband could cause flash floods and set off landslides in northern provinces, the country's weather bureau said.
Doksuri was last tracked 310km east of Tuguegarao city in Cagayan province with sustained winds of 185 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 230km/h, government forecasters said.
The typhoon would also enhance seasonal monsoon rains in central and northern provinces. It was forecast to continue moving northwest on a track south of Taiwan that would make landfall in China later this week.
Nearly 10,000 inter-island ferry passengers and cargo truck drivers, along with 100 passenger and cargo vessels and motor bancas, were stranded in several ports where a no-sail order was imposed due to the typhoon and enhanced monsoon rains, the Philippine coast guard said.
Australian Associated Press