Typhoon Maysak taken by astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti from the International Space Station
A super typhoon blamed for the deaths of at least four people on islands in the western Pacific Ocean has weakened after reaching Philippine waters and is expected to further lose strength as it approaches the country’s northeastern coast, officials said.
Esperanza Cayanan, an officer of the government’s weather bureau, said as of yesterday morning Typhoon Maysak was 915 kilometers northeast of eastern Borongan city, packing winds of 175 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 210 kph. It is moving northwest at 19 kph.
Officials said they had readied rescue teams and relief goods to prepare for Maysak’s landfall tomorrow evening or early Sunday in northeastern Aurora or Isabela provinces and warned tourists headed to beaches for the Easter holidays to exercise caution.
Storm surges of up to 3 meters tall are possible in the eastern coast, while moderate to heavy rains are expected within a 200-kilometer radius from the typhoon’s eye.
The weather bureau is set to issue a low-level storm warning later Thursday for the eastern provinces, which will suspend sea travel. The military went on alert Wednesday in the northern Philippines.
Cayanan said the storm was expected to weaken further after making landfall, and that it was possible it would be downgraded to a storm or tropical depression as it crosses land.
The typhoon threatens holiday plans in the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines, where Filipinos travel to their home provinces and to resorts. AP
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