Typhoon Mangkhut: Philippines lashed by winds of more than 100mph

Last year, 10 people died in Macau as a result of Typhoon Hato, the strongest storm to hit the city in over five decades, which also caused large-scale flooding and damage to property.

The city is bracing for its impact: Many businesses and homes are shuttered, nuclear power plants in the storm’s path are “in combat readiness” and hundreds of flights from the Hong Kong International Airport have been cancelled, according to theSouth China Morning Post.

The president of neighbouring Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, told citizens to be ready.

An infant and another child were among four people killed in a landslide in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, while many others were injured.

Residents gather usable items after their property was destroyed by Mangkhut. Five years ago, which killed almost 6,000 people.

Rapid response teams were prepared to join the air force on search and rescue missions as civil defense teams scoured areas in the path of Mangkhut, which felled trees and pulled down lines of electricity poles.

Residents evacuated and spent the night in an evacuation centre in Gonzaga, Philippines.

On Friday, Philippine residents in the northeast province of Cagayan reported experiencing strong winds and heavy rain.

The Philippine News Agency reported that strong winds and rains hit Laoag City, the capital of the Philippines’ province of Ilocos Norte, on the evening of September 14, and more than 2,000 people living in low-lying areas in Ilocos Norte had evacuated.

The world’s most powerful storm of the year ripped into the northern Philippines early on Saturday with winds of up to 269km/h.

More than 5 million people were at risk from the storm, which the Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center downgraded from a super typhoon but still punching powerful winds and gusts equivalent to a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane. Cars shook as wind gusts pummeled a parking lot. The biggest issue for emergency services remains clearing debris from main roads.

The threat to life is higher because the storm, spanning 560 miles, is expected to combine with monsoon season to trigger flash floods and landslides.

The Red Cross said it had put teams on the highest level of alert across the island, warning that high winds and torrential rains could cause widespread damage to islands and coastal areas of Luzon.

In Tuguegarao, residents had braced for the typhoon’s fury by reinforcing homes and buildings and stocking up on food.

No such research has yet come out on super Typhoon Mangkhut.

BBC correspondent Jonathan Head, in the main island of Luzon, saw 200 people who had taken shelter in a school being re-evacuated because a swollen river threatening to burst.

Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) traveling to or from the Philippines affected by Typhoon Ompong are each entitled to a P5,000 financial assistance from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). “If it flattens everything, maybe we need to have some help”, the president said.

According to China’s National Meteorological Centre, Mangkhut was moving northwestward at a speed of 26kmh at 8am, about 1,000km away from the city of Yangjiang, Guangdong province.

Cathay is among at least five worldwide airlines, including Singapore Airlines, that have announced flight delays and cancellations before Super Typhoon Mangkhut bears down on the city.