MANILA: A powerful typhoon threatened to bring heavy rains and winds to the heavily-populated Philippine capital as it dragged its way across the archipelago on Monday, spoiling the Christmas holidays.
Typhoon Nock-Ten, which made landfall on the eastern island province of Catanduanes on Sunday, is forecast to move westward towards the country’s heartland, packing winds of 230 kilometres (143 miles) per hour, the government weather station said.
More than 218,000 people have already fled their homes while 48 domestic and international flights were cancelled, the civil defence office said, as the unusually late typhoon marred Christmas celebrations in the largely Christian nation.
So far there have been no reports of casualties after the government took measures to prepare communities even before the storm hit.
