Philippines evacuates thousands as Super Typhoon Man-yi nears
Al Jazeera
President Marcos directs government to prepare for ‘worst-case scenario’, with millions at risk from storm surges.
The Philippines has ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people and cancelled dozens of flights as a “potentially catastrophic” typhoon – the sixth storm in a month – approaches the archipelago.
Packing winds of 240km/h (149mph), Man-yi was upgraded to a super typhoon by state weather agency PAGASA.
“Pepito is approaching its peak intensity,” the agency said, using the local name for the storm that was expected to make landfall near the province of Catanduanes on Saturday night or early on Sunday.
It warned of a “potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation” for the central region of Bicol, where nearly 180,000 people have been evacuated.
Man-yi was heading towards the eastern part of the main island of Luzon, prompting PAGASA to raise its highest Category 5 alert for Catanduanes and Category 4 for the northern part of Camarines Sur province.
