Daily Times

Typhoon Usagi slammed into the Philippines’ already disaster-ravaged north on Thursday, as authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of people from coastal areas. Usagi made landfall in the town of Baggao in Cagayan province at 0530 GMT with winds of 175 kilometres (109 miles) an hour, the national weather service said — the fifth storm to strike the country in just three weeks. The brutal wave of weather disasters has already killed 159 people and prompted the United Nations to request $32.9 million in aid for the worst-affected regions. The national weather agency had initially raised its highest storm alert, but downgraded to its second-highest as Usagi made landfall. It said the winds could cause “considerable damage to structures of light materials”, moderate damage even to structures otherwise considered “low-risk”, and uproot large trees within the next 12 hours. “Intense to torrential rain” and potentially “life-threatening” coastal waves of up to three metres (nine feet) were also forecast over two days.