Emergency officials in the Philippines were on high alert Sunday as a rapidly intensifying tropical storm known as Super Typhoon Noru made landfall off the eastern coast of the capital, Manila, and headed toward the main island.
Weather officials have warned of a potential “extreme threat” to life and property from Noru, also known locally as Super Typhoon Karding. The storm reached “super typhoon category after a period of explosive intensification,” they said.
Although the storm was expected to weaken by Monday when it crossed the main island of Luzon, which includes Manila, and made landfall, officials said it was “highly likely” that it would “remain a typhoon as it crosses the landmass”.
In Manila, rescue workers were preparing rubber boots and life jackets on Sunday as authorities began evacuating people from coastal areas.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. canceled classes in public schools and closed non-emergency government buildings on Sunday to try to keep people indoors and out of the storm’s path, he said. tell your office on social networks.
Local services were disrupted and dozens of domestic and international flights were canceled due to the weather, including a United Airlines flight to Guam, officials said.
The US Embassy rescheduled all consular appointments for Monday in Manila. Curtis S. Chin, former US ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, said his thoughts were with the Philippines as he shared a view of the storm that grew rapidly between Saturday and Sunday.
The typhoon is expected to bring large waves, torrential rain and wind gusts of up to about 127 miles per hour to the northern island of Luzon, home to a population of more than 64 million people, over the next 24 hours.
“Under these conditions, rain-induced widespread flooding and landslides are expected, particularly in areas that are highly or highly susceptible to these hazards, as identified on hazard maps and in localities with significant antecedent rainfall” , said the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Atmospheric. said the Astronomical Services Administration.
At 5:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, the agency said the eye of the storm had made landfall near Bordeaux, a municipal area in Quezon province in the Polillo Islands.
It forecast “a high or very high risk” of storm surges of about 10 feet or more in low-lying and exposed coastal areas of northern Quezon, Polillo and Aurora islands. He said “heavy to heavy rains with occasional torrential rains” were expected until Monday morning over Metro Manila, which includes Quezon City, nearby provinces and northern Quezon.
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karding is one of the many tropical storms that have hit the Philippines this year. The capital and northern provinces are recovering from a cyclone last month that caused floods and landslides and killed three people, according to Reuters.
Scientists say global warming is increasing the intensity of storms, leading to more frequent and severe weather events around the world.
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One of the strongest storms ever to hit Canada slammed into the coast of Nova Scotia on Saturday, leaving much of Nova Scotia and nearly all of Prince Edward Island without power. Former Hurricane Fiona is the lowest-pressure landfalling storm on record in Canada, according to the Canadian Hurricane Center, which also reported hurricane-force gusts affecting the area.
Meanwhile, a tropical storm known as Ian has been barreling through the central Caribbean, a journey that weather experts say could culminate in a collision with Florida on Thursday as a hurricane.
Noru is forecast to be a Category 5 storm at its peak, which will pose an “extreme threat to life and property,” weather officials said.
Matthew Cappucci, Selena Ross and Sydney Page contributed to this report.