Sunday Times 2
Super Typhoon Maysak weakens but thousands being evacuated in Philippines
View(s):MANILA, April 4 (AFP) -Around 24,000 coastal residents of the Philippines were being evacuated as a precaution from approaching Tropical Storm Maysak today, officials said, even as experts downgraded the threat from what was at one point a super typhoon.
Maysak, which days earlier hit several small islands in the Pacific Ocean, has weakened into a 115-kilometre (71-mile) an hour storm, state weather forecaster Jun Galang told AFP.
This handout picture ESA/NASA shows the eye of Super Typhoon Maysak as photographed from the International Space Station (ISS) (AFP)
It was also possible the storm would further weaken to between 65-85 kilometres an hour by the time it is projected to hit the northeast coast of the main Philippine island of Luzon on Sunday morning, he added.
“At those lower intensities, we can eliminate the threat posed by storm surges,” he said, referring to giant tsunami-like waves that had prompted local officials to evacuate coastal villages in the area.
Such waves caused many of the fatalities when Super Typhoon Haiyan struck the country in November 2013, leaving more than 7,350 dead or missing.
Despite its reduced strength, Galang said Maysak was still forecast to bring “moderate to occasionally intense” rain across a 400-kilometre front on Luzon’s mountainous northern section overnight today.
Even light or moderate rain, if sustained for several hours, can bring floods and landslides in a locality, he noted.