Philippines: Evacuation Begins Over Typhoon Noru

Authorities in the Philippines have started evacuating people from coastal areas as a powerful typhoon moves towards the heavily populated island of Luzon, where the capital Manila is located.

The country’s disaster agency said in an advisory that Typhoon Noru became a super typhoon “after a period of explosive intensification”, with sustained winds increasing to 185km/h (115 mph) on Sunday morning from 120km/h (74.5 mph) on Saturday evening,

It added that the storm, the strongest to hit the Philippines this year, is expected to continue strengthening as it makes landfall about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Manila in the afternoon or evening local time.

It could also have wind speeds of up to 205km/h (127 mph) when it makes landfall, the weather bureau said.

The typhoon is predicted to barrel through Luzon Island overnight before starting to blow away into the South China Sea on Monday, forecasters said.

The Philippines is regularly ravaged by storms, with scientists warning they are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer because of climate change.