Typhoon Kammuri makes landfall in Philippines

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Manila, Dec 3 (IANS) Typhoon Kammuri made landfall in the Philippines on Tuesday with violent winds and heavy rainfall that has forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights at the Manila airport and the evacuation of thousands of people.

Early Tuesday morning, the eye of the storm was over the province of Quezon, in the southeast of the island of Luzon, and was expected to reach the capital of the country by noon, the meteorological agency Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said in an alert.

The typhoon, called Tisoy by the Philippine agency, hit the region with sustained winds of 155 km per hour and gusts of 235 km per hour, the report added.

Before Kammuri arrived, authorities announced the suspension of operations at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), which has resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

On Tuesday as of 9.30 a.m., it listed the cancellation of more than 500 flights of around 35 airlines.

About 226,000 people from Bicol Region, Eastern Visayas, Calabarzon and Mimaropa were pre-emptively evacuated, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

The NDRRMC also said 6,557 passengers, 1,506 rolling cargoes, 138 vessels, and 66 motorboats were reported stranded in different ports, while 22 houses were damaged in Region V and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

The mayor of Manila, Isko Moreno, in a message on Facebook, ordered the evacuation of half a dozen neighbourhoods located in coastal areas.

Kammuri has also affected the hosting of the Southeast Asian Games, inaugurated on Saturday with the participation of more than 5,600 athletes, and in which the competitions of some eight disciplines have been postponed or suspended, the organization announced Monday night.

--IANS

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