Strong typhoon threatens northern Philippines, Taiwan, China

MANILA (AP) - A strong typhoon off the Philippines' mountainous north forced authorities to close schools in the capital again Thursday as disaster-response teams braced for possible floods and landslides.

Typhoon Sepat was roaring over the Pacific Ocean about 500 kilometers (310 miles) east of northern Luzon island with sustained winds of 185 kilometers (115 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 220 kph (137 mph), the strongest storm to threaten the country this year, forecasters said.

Sepat _ a Malaysian word for a freshwater fish _ could pick up energy as it moves over the ocean and turn into a super typhoon _ a storm with sustained winds of 215 kph (134 mph), government forecaster Lucrecio About said.

"It can wash out everything not made of cement or steel with that wind," About said.

Blowing northwestward, Sepat was expected to pass near the northernmost province of Batanes on Saturday before churning toward southern Taiwan and mainland China.

Typhoon alerts were raised in the northern Philippine provinces of Catanduanes, Cagayan and Isabela, where fishermen were warned not to venture out to sea in small craft.

Taiwan issued a warning for ships traveling through its southern waters as Sepat approached the island, moving at 17 kph (10 mph).

As of 8 a.m. (0000 GMT) Thursday, Sepat's center was about 830 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of coastal Taitung county in southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Bureau said.

If Sepat continues on its current course, its fringe could affect the island early Friday and possibly make landfall over southeastern Taiwan at night, it said.

The bureau urged ships in the Bashi Channel or seas southeast of Taiwan to take extra precautions.

Monsoon rains induced by Sepat flooded many parts of the Philippine capital on Wednesday, causing monstrous traffic jams and forcing authorities to suspend classes and government work. Schools remained closed Thursday due to fear of more rains.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's convoy was caught in a "nightmarish" traffic jam in the Makati financial district, causing her to be an hour late for an event Wednesday, her office said in a statement.

Quentin Tarantino, director of such films as "Pulp Fiction" and "Kill Bill," was forced to abandon his limousine, which got stuck in Manila traffic for about 2 1/2 hours, and hop into a "pedicab" bicycle taxi as he scrambled to reach the presidential palace to receive a film award at a separate event.

Troops and firefighters evacuated more than 220 people from their flooded homes, mostly in the capital's flood-prone suburbs of Marikina, Malabon and San Juan, the National Disaster Coordination Council said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries from the fifth serious storm to hit the country this year.

Back-to-back storms set off landslides and inundated many agricultural regions of Luzon last week, killing at least eight people, according to the government's Office of Civil Defense.