Typhoon Nock-Ten closes in on the Bicol peninsula and nearby islands of Philippines

Typhoon Nock-Ten closes in on the Bicol peninsula and nearby islands and thousands of residents were fleeing coastal and other hazardous areas in the eastern Philippines. The powerful typhoon is barrelled towards the disaster-prone archipelago and officials have warned of 2.5-metre high waves and landslides.
People were evacuated from a farming village of 3,300 people near the active Mayon volcano. There are large ash deposits on the slopes and, heavy rain could dislodge them and bury the homes in mud.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 25 December 2016.

Philippine and international weather services have indicated that Nock- Ten, named after a bird found in Laos, was set to hit Bicol on Sunday before reaching the rest of the main island of Luzon tomorrow. The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center has also made forecast of sustained windspeeds of 231-Kmph and gusts of 278-Kmph when Nock-Ten makes landfall.
The typhoon will affect an area populated by nearly 42 million people and will include the capital Manila. The government has carried out preemptive evacuations in the region with nearly 4,000 residents moving into emergency centres and more than 8,000 others seeking shelter elsewhere.
Nock-Ten is arriving outside the normal typhoon season and will disrupt the celebration of one of the most important holidays in the mainly Catholic country's religious calendar - all ferry services and some commercial flights suspended. The coastguard has ordered beaches south of Manila to be cleared of holidaymakers and all forms of recreational activity (on the coasts) remain banned.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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