BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A typhoon was heading straight for the main Philippine island of Luzon on Saturday, prompting storm alerts in nearly 20 provinces and placing army and police units on standby.
Forecasters said Typhoon Koppu was packing winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour (115 mph) as it approached the Philippines and was slow moving, meaning it could bring intense rain and flooding over several days.
The typhoon was expected to make landfall at about 18:00 GMT on Saturday in Aurora province and could bring winds of up to 222 km/h (138 mph), Tropical Storm Risk said. Wind gusts may be considerably higher, it said.
The state weather service warned residents on the east coast of Luzon to be ready for possible storm surges of more than 2 metres (6ft).
The Philippine military in northern Luzon has been placed on alert for disaster operations.
"We have placed military and emergency workers on alert," Alexander Pama, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said on Friday.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) estimated that rain was likely to be heavy to intense within a 600 km diameter of the typhoon, locally known as Lando.
Terrain lower than 3 metres above sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 10 km (6 miles), Tropical Storm Risk said.
President Benigno Aquino on Friday appealed on television to people not to panic and to make preparations.
The last time Aquino made a televised appeal was in 2013, the day before super typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines, killing more than 6,300 people and leaving millions homeless.
An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
