Manila [Philippines], July 27 : As many as five people were killed by a powerful typhoon which brought widespread flooding and landslides to the Philippines, CNN reported citing authorities in the country.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Typhoon Doksuri, also known as Egay in the Philippines, has caused flooding in five different provinces and more than a dozen landslides brought on by rain.
According to the agency, two victims were injured across the nation and one victim died in the central Calabarzon region. Four victims died in the high Cordillera region.
According to Pagasa, the Philippine weather service, the storm made ashore around 3:10 am (local time) close to remote northern Fuga Island, as per CNN.
According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre, Doksuri landed with winds of roughly 220 kilometres per hour (140 mph), which is equivalent to a category 4 Atlantic hurricane, although having lost some of its super typhoon intensity.
The largest and most populous island in the Philippines, Luzon, was predicted to experience violent and life-threatening circumstances as torrential rains ravaged the nation.
According to Pasgasa, the typhoon's 680-kilometer (420-mile) rainband dropped up to 16 inches (0.4 metres) of rain, with the potential to rise to 20 inches (0.5 metres).
Authorities also issued a 3 metre (almost 10 foot) warning for tidal surges, according to CNN.
Local governments started evacuating some residents of the storm's path on Tuesday in preparation for winds of up to 200 kph (124 mph).
By Tuesday evening, according to the governor of the province of Cagayan, which closed its offices and suspended classes, more than 12,000 residents had left coastal and mountain villages.
“It’s a powerful typhoon and we want to take as many preemptive measures as possible,” Gov. Cagayan Manuel Mamba told CNN.
From Wednesday through Friday, authorities also cancelled at least a dozen domestic flights.
Although Taiwan and China are preparing for the possibility of significant rains and severe winds, the typhoon is predicted to decrease as it moves towards the northwest.
Taiwan postponed some of its annual military exercises on Tuesday due to the typhoon as it prepared for what may be the worst storm to hit the autonomous island in four years.
Eastern Taiwan is currently being impacted by the typhoon's outer bands, according to the Central Weather Bureau of the island. As it moves northwest, it is anticipated to continue to weaken until it is only a category 1 hurricane, with the possibility of making a second landfall in the next two days on China's southern coastline.
As Doksuri is expected to make landfall by Friday around the southeast coast where the provinces of Fujian and Guangdong meet, China's National Meteorological Centre has upgraded its typhoon emergency warning to the highest level.
Chinese authorities have urged fishermen to quickly return to port and farmers to take precautions to prevent flooding of fields, CNN reported.
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