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 Parts of the Philippines are still recovering from Typhoon Haiyan,
one of the biggest cyclones known to have made landfall anywhere,
which killed more than 6,100 people last year, many in tsunami-like
sea surges, and left millions homeless.
Typhoon Rammasun, with gusts of up to 160 kph (99 mph) and sustained
winds of 130 kph (81 mph) near its centre, was expected to make
landfall over the eastern provinces of Albay and Sorsogon later on
Tuesday.
Tropical Storm Risk described Rammasun, expected to bring moderate
to intense rainfall of up to 20 mm per hour within its 500-km
(300-mile) radius, as a category-one typhoon, on a scale of one to
five of which five is the most severe.
It is the strongest storm to threaten the country since Haiyan, a
category-five "super typhoon", wiped out nearly everything in its
path when it crossed the central Philippines in November.
Rammasun was expected to bring storm surges of up to three metres
(10 feet) in coastal villages, the weather bureau said.
On its current path, the storm would also be the first in about four
years to score a direct hit on Manila, the weather bureau said.
The storm will pass north of Eastern Samar and Leyte, the provinces
worst hit by Haiyan, where some residents are still living in tents
due to slow recovery efforts. Those areas may see heavy rain and
strong winds.
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FULL ALERT
Albay province ordered the evacuation of low-lying and coastal
areas, as well as landslide-prone villages.
"We sought the assistance of the Philippine army to enforce
mandatory evacuations," Governor Miguel Villafuerte of nearby
Camarines Sur, one of the provinces which Rammasun could hit, said
in a radio interview.
Despite warnings, many residents were reluctant to leave home.
"We are prepared for the worst," said 67-year-old Rosemarie Poblete
of Tobaco City in Albay, whose family of four lives near a river
swollen by heavy rain early on Tuesday.
"We bought extra food and candles and are ready for any emergency,"
she told Reuters.
Schools will be closed on Wednesday in some areas including Manila.
The government has been placed on full alert and has intensified
preparations in the hope of avoiding casualties, said Presidential
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma.
(Reporting by Karen Lema and Siegfrid Alegado; Writing by Rosemarie
Francisco and Erik dela Cruz; Editing by Nick Macfie and Robert
Birsel)
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