TEHRAN – Tens of thousands were driven from their homes by floods and three fishermen were missing Saturday as Tropical Storm Kai-Tak barreled towards the eastern Philippines, officials said. Kai-Tak, packing gusts of up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) an hour, was poised to smash into the north of the country’s third-largest island Samar overnight […]
TEHRAN – Tens of thousands were driven from their homes by floods and three fishermen were missing Saturday as Tropical Storm Kai-Tak barreled towards the eastern Philippines, officials said.
Kai-Tak, packing gusts of up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) an hour, was poised to smash into the north of the country’s third-largest island Samar overnight Saturday before slicing across the central Philippines, the state weather service said.
More than 38,000 people have moved to evacuation camps, local officials said, after days of heavy rain unleashed by the approaching cyclone caused floods and landslides on Samar and nearby Leyte Island, AFP reported.
These islands, with a combined population of about 4.5 million, had borne the brunt of Super Typhoon Haiyan four years ago, which left more than 7,350 people dead or missing.
Ferry services on the two islands remain suspended due to rough seas, with three fishermen also missing despite government warnings against sailing, the region’s civil defense office said.
