Typhoon Glenda (Rammasun): Philippines bracing for tropical storm bringing floods, landslides and destructive winds
Some fear it could be stronger than Typhoon Milenyo, which killed almost 200
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Your support makes all the difference.The Philippines is bracing for floods, landslides and ferocious winds as a tropical storm approaching the country strengthens.
Typhoon Rammasun, also known by the name Glenda, is expected to intensify before it makes landfall in Albay, in the east of Luzon Island, on Tuesday.
Some fear it could be stronger than Typhoon Milenyo, which killed almost 200 people in the Philippines and affected 2 million residents.
The province, 212 miles southeast of Manila, is a disaster-prone province where mudslides from Mayon, the country's most active volcano, buried entire villages in 2006 and left about 1,600 people dead and missing.
By Monday afternoon, Typhoon Glenda had sustained winds of 68mph and gusts of almost 90 mph, according to the government weather service.
Alexander Pama, the executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the council's field offices in at least seven regions, including Metropolitan Manila, had been put on alert for landslides and flash floods.
“Our initial assessment is that there is not much on the wind. What we are wary about are landslides and flooding,” he added.
Schools suspended classes on Monday afternoon in some areas, including Manila and officials urged boats not to sail in the storm's path, readied relief stocks and prepared for the possible evacuation of residents.
The storm’s impact was expected to be felt in Manila starting from Tuesday and will be pass over the capital early on Wednesday before moving into the South China Sea.
Central areas in the Philippines have not yet fully recovered from the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan in November.
The powerful winds and tsunami-like storm surges flattened towns, leaving at least 6,300 people dead and more than 1,000 missing.
Additional reporting by AP
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