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Typhoon Phanfone Continues to Threaten Philippines on Christmas

Typhoon Phanfone Continues to Threaten Philippines on Christmas

(Bloomberg) -- Typhoon Phanfone continues to bring destructive winds and intense rainfall over parts of central Philippines on Wednesday, a day after forcing hundreds of people to evacuate and stranding thousands of holiday travelers in Asia’s largest Catholic nation.

Locally called Ursula, it packed maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 195 kph, weather bureau Pagasa said in its 11:00 am report.

Impact

  • More than 900 families have been evacuated in Eastern Visayas while nearly 2,000 families have been moved to safety in Bicol region, the regional disaster-monitoring agencies said
  • The strong winds which hit starting Tuesday tore the roofs of houses, uprooted trees and felled electric posts in Capiz province, with residents comparing Phanfone’s onslaught to Supertyphoon Haiyan, which struck the same areas six years ago, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported
  • Popular tourist destination Boracay Island suffered damaged houses, according to various social media posts and local media reports

Forecast

  • Storm signal 3 is hoisted over seven provinces in Luzon and Visayas while lower signals under a five-step warning system were in effect in more than 20 others: weather bureau
  • Phanfone is forecast to exit the Philippines on Saturday

To contact the reporter on this story: Ditas Lopez in Manila at dlopez55@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecilia Yap at cyap19@bloomberg.net, Niluksi Koswanage

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