12 people have already died as one of the strongest typhoons in the history of the Philippines makes landfall. Super Typhoon Mangkhut is expected to affect up to five million people. Mangkhut, known locally as Ompong, has recently been downgraded to a category-4 Atlantic hurricane. It is essentially a huge 900km (560-mile) rain cloud which could, when mixed with seasonal rain, create waves of up to six meters (20ft) on the coasts of Cagayan, weather experts have warned. Staggering winds of 205kph and
extreme rainfall caused some structural damage and cut power to more than four million people across the Cagayan province on Luzon Island, around 300km north of Manila. “It can lift cars, you can’t stand, you can’t even crawl against that wind,” warned Philippines government forecaster Rene Paciente, who also cautioned that even if the typhoon weakens after making landfall, it will still be incredibly destructive. READ MORE
