Typhoon Nuri batters Phillipines; threatens China

Typhoon Nuri dumps heavy rains in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines: A powerful typhoon packing winds of 87 mph battered the Northern Philippines with heavy rains Wednesday, closing schools and putting authorities on alert for flash floods and landslides.

The eye of Typhoon Nuri, with gusts of up to 106 mph, skirted the northeastern tip of the archipelago in Cagayan province, but its outer bands engulfed most of the mountainous northern provinces where schools were closed and storm alerts raised.

The head of the Philippine weather bureau, Nathaniel Cruz, said Nuri was a powerful system and would likely gain strength as it slowly moves northwest at 13 mph across Babuyan and Calayan islands in the Luzon Strait toward Hong Kong and Guangdong in eastern China.

He said the typhoon was enhancing monsoon rains and that strong winds would continue until Thursday morning.

Typhoon Nuri dumps heavy rains in Philippines (Associated Press)

Nuri is currently a Category 2 Typhoon and is expected to strengthen as it approaches the southeast Chinese coast.

China fishery agencies asked on alert as typhoon Nuri nears (Xinhua)

The eye of Nuri, the twelfth tropical storm of this year, was monitored 620 kilometers southeast offshore from Taiwan's Hengchuncity at 5 p.m. Tuesday,
according to the Central Meteorological Station.

It was moving towards the country's southeastern coastal areas with a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, said the station.

The MOA called on local government departments to prepare for disaster-relief services, strengthen dykes and mobilize farmers to harvest mature crops against
time.

Nuri is expected to be a major Category 3 or possibly a Cat 4 storm by the time it reaches the Chinese coast.

Both the northern Philippines and southeastern China have been hit with quite a few strong typhoons this season with 500 - 700 people being killed a few months ago in the Philippines when Typhoon Fengshen (Frank) struck in late June capsizing a ferry and causing severe flooding.