Thousands of people were being evacuated from their homes in the Philippines on Friday, as Super Typhoon Mangkhut, a colossal storm more than 550 miles wide with maximum sustained wind speeds of 173 mph, howled its way across the Pacific.
Published : 14 Sep 2018, 02:31 PM
Mangkhut’s eye is on course to hit in the early hours Saturday on the northern island of Luzon, the country’s rice and corn growing heartland, where more than 4 million people are at risk.
The storm, gusting at speeds equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, passed the US territory of Guam on Thursday, knocking out 80 percent of the island’s electricity and downing trees and power lines.
RESCUERS PUT ON HIGH ALERT
Across the Philippines, schools have been shuttered, home and business owners have boarded their windows and the military has been put on high alert.
President Rodrigo Duterte barred troops from taking leave, and ordered that rice seized by customs officials at the country’s ports should be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for potential disaster relief.
HARVEST OR EVACUATE?
Duterte warned that the storm could deal a severe blow to the country’s agricultural sector, just as the rice and corn harvests are set to start.
The president’s order that farmers harvest their most mature grains immediately set up a difficult choice for farmers who were also told to evacuate.
If the country was hit hard by the storm, the president predicted hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Hong Kong and Southern China are next in the storm’s path
The Hong Kong Observatory warned residents of the territory to “take suitable precautions and pay close attention to the latest information” on the storm.
In mainland China, the southern provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan have ordered residents to seek shelter away from the coast.
© 2018 New York Times News Service