Highest alert level raised as Philippines braces for Super Typhoon Usagi
Al Jazeera
Weather agency warns of ‘life-threatening’ tidal surges in coastal area as another tropical storm forms in the Pacific.
The Philippines has raised its highest storm alert and evacuated thousands of people as it braces for Super Typhoon Usagi, the fifth storm to hit the country in three weeks.
Packing sustained winds of up to 185km/h (115mph), Usagi is set to make landfall in the already storm-battered northern part of the main island of Luzon on Thursday, according to the national weather agency.
“Landfall at or near super typhoon intensity is likely,” the agency, PAGASA, said in its latest bulletin, adding that gusts could reach up to 230km/h (143mph). Luzon is the country’s most populous agricultural region.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday urged residents in the affected areas to “heed the warning” of local governments.
“To those who have been ordered to evacuate, please do so for your own safety,” he said.
