Doksuri becomes a super typhoon as it approaches northern Philippines
Manila, July 25 (EFE).- Typhoon Doksuri intensified to a maximum Category 5 hurricane to become a super typhoon as it approaches northern Philippines, the Philippine weather agency said Tuesday.
According to the latest forecast, Doksuri could make landfall in the north of the country between Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
It has already caused rainfall on the main Philippine island of Luzon, which is the most populated and where the capital is located.
On Tuesday morning, the eye of the typhoon, also known as Egay in the Philippines, was located 310 kilometers (192 miles) east of Luzon with sustained winds of up to 185 kilometers per hour (115 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 230 kilometers per hour, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
If it continues on its current course, Doksuri threatens to pass through the northern province of Batanes, made up of ten small islands located in the Luzon Strait and a few hundred kilometers from Taiwan, with a population of 16,500.
In addition to heavy rains and winds, the typhoon could cause flooding that could exceed three meters in coastal areas as well as landslides, according to authorities.
After passing through the Philippines, the typhoon would continue moving towards southern Taiwan and southeast China.
An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines each year, a situation that is aggravated by climate change and could worsen this year with the arrival of El Niño, a weather pattern wherein the ocean temperatures rise thereby causing a greater number of storms, according to experts. EFE
fil-nc/pd
