Evacuees take shelter as 'Nando' ploughs toward northern Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — Hundreds of families sheltered in schools and evacuation centers Monday as Super Typhoon Nando (international name: Ragasa) approached northern Philippines with gale-force winds and heavy rain, raising fears of severe flooding and landslides.

The cyclone, with sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 265 kph, was expected to make landfall around midday over the Babuyan Islands, according to the national weather service. The sparsely populated islands lie off northern Luzon in the Luzon Strait.

“We are now experiencing strong winds here in northern Cagayan,” provincial disaster chief Rueli Rapsing told AFP, adding that authorities were bracing for “the worst.”

He said officials were focused on Calayan, a town in the far north province.

READ: Signal No. 5 up as Super Typhoon Nando nears Babuyan Islands

Classes and government offices were suspended in Metro Manila and 29 provinces. Government forecasters warned of “severe flooding and landslides” in northern Luzon as the typhoon neared.

The looming floods came just a day after thousands of Filipinos protested corruption in flood-control projects that were poorly built or never completed. Largely peaceful rallies turned violent Sunday evening as protesters clashed with police in Manila, leading to more than 70 arrests.

In Taiwan, local officials ordered small-scale evacuations in mountainous areas near Pingtung. “What worries us more is that the damage could be similar to what happened during Typhoon Koinu two years ago,” fire officer James Wu said in an interview with AFP.

The Philippines, the first major landmass in the Pacific cyclone belt, is struck by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year. Scientists warn storms are intensifying as the planet warms from human-driven climate change. — Based on a report from Agence France Presse