TYPHOON Usagi weakened sharply after bearing down on the Philippines’ northern towns, blowing away houses in its path as authorities brace for another storm that could hit the capital Manila over the weekend.
Usagi, known locally as Ofel, intensified into a super typhoon as it made landfall in the town of Baggao in Cagayan province on Thursday afternoon.
Philippine meteorological agency Pag-asa said yesterday that Usagi has since weakened and was headed towards Taiwan.
Usagi is the 15th cyclone to hit the Philippines this year.
Officials are already bracing for another typhoon, Man-yi, which could hit eastern towns and the capital region over the weekend as it continues to intensify in the western Pacific. Man-yi could become a supertyphoon on early Sunday, Pag-asa said.
No casualties have yet been reported from Usagi, even as thousands of families living in vulnerable communities fled ahead of its arrival.
Rueli Rapsing, head of the Cagayan disaster relief office, said town officials are still probing the extent of the damage from the storm.
“There were more homes that were partially or totally blown after Marce (Typhoon Yinxing). Currently, we’re moving around assessing the damage,” he said.
Preemptive evacuations of vulnerable residents in Typhoon Man-yi’s path began yesterday. — Reuters
