Manila (dpa) – Typhoon Koppu slammed into the northern Philippines Sunday, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes amid heavy rains and strong winds that could last up to three days.
Koppu weakened slighty as it made landfall over Casiguran town in Aurora province, 215 kilometres north of Manila, but “has remained almost stationary,” the weather bureau said.
The typhoon was packing maximum winds of 175 kilometres per hour (khp) with gusts of up to 210 kph. The bureau raised storm signal warnings over 28 provinces and Manila.
Koppu toppled trees and ripped off rooftops, while nearly 10,000 people evacuated their homes amid warnings of flash floods and storm surges up to 3 metres.
Dozens of domestic flights were cancelled, while sea travel has also been suspended due to choppy seas, stranding more than 5,000 passengers, the disaster relief agency said.
