Typhoon Doksuri kills at least five as Philippines battles floods and landslides
By Kathleen Magramo, CNN
(CNN) — A powerful typhoon brought widespread flooding and landslides to the Philippines on Wednesday, killing at least five people, authorities in the country said.
Typhoon Doksuri, known as Egay in the Philippines, has caused flooding across five regions and more than a dozen rain-induced landslides, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
One victim was killed in the central region of Calabarzon and four died in the mountainous Cordillera region, another two people were injured elsewhere in the country, the agency said.
The storm made landfall at 3:10 a.m. local time (3:10 p.m. ET) near remote northern Fuga Island, said Pagasa, the Philippine weather bureau.
Though it has weakened from super typhoon strength, Doksuri arrived with winds of about 220 kilometers per hour (140 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center – equivalent to a category 4 Atlantic hurricane.
Pagasa warned that violent and life-threatening conditions were expected in some areas of Luzon, the Philippines’ largest and most populous island, as torrential rains rains swept the country.
The typhoon unleashed up to 16 inches (0.4 meters) of rain, with the potential to reach 20 inches (0.5 meters) from its 680-kilometer (420-mile) rainband, Pasgasa said.
Authorities also warned of tidal surges up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet).
Local governments on Tuesday began evacuating some people living in the storm’s path in anticipation of winds reaching 200 kph (124 mph).
The governor of Cagayan province, which suspended schools and closed offices, said more than 12,000 people were evacuated from coastal and mountain towns by Tuesday evening.
“It’s a powerful typhoon and we want to take as many preemptive measures as possible,” Gov. Cagayan Manuel Mamba told CNN.
Officials also canceled at least a dozen domestic flights from Wednesday through Friday.
Taiwan cancels military drills
The typhoon is expected to weaken as it heads northwest – though Taiwan and China are bracing for potentially heavy rainfall and strong winds.
The typhoon prompted Taiwan to cancel some of its annual military drills Tuesday as it faced the prospect of what could be the strongest storm to hit the self-governing island in four years.
The typhoon’s outer bands are beginning to impact eastern Taiwan, according to the island’s Central Weather Bureau. It is expected to continue to weaken to the equivalent of a category 1 Atlantic hurricane as it tracks northwest, potentially making a second landfall in the next two days on China’s southern coastline.
China’s National Meteorological Center raised its typhoon emergency warning to the highest level on Wednesday as Doksuri is projected to land by Friday along the southeast coast where Fujian and Guangdong provinces meet.
Chinese authorities have told fishing boats to return to port immediately and warned farmers to take preventive measures to avoid flooding of crops.
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CNN’s Dhruv Tikekar contributed reporting.
