Upcoming Typhoon Rai are threatening the Philippines as thousands flee.
Many thousands of people were evacuated from the coastal regions in the southern and central Philippines in anticipation of a powerful typhoon likely to hit the Philippines late on Thursday afternoon.
Typhoon Rai has now upgraded to class 4 storm, the fourth-highest classification.
The Philippines forecast bureau said it has a wind speed of 165 kilometers (102.5 miles) per hour and rates of up to 205 km/h.
Nearly 30,000 residents of Eastern Samar province, one of the provinces hardest hit by super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, were removed from their homes within the last two days, the governor Ben Evardone told DZMM radio station.
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“Powerful winds and heavy rain are battering us,” Evardone said.
The southern part of Surigao del Sur has already started to feel the hurricane’s heft.
“The rain and wind are intense,” Lita Escarez, who was forced to flee an area with a beach and was interviewed by DZBB. “We haven’t yet had breakfast because we can’t go out due to rainfall.”
Airlines canceled flights on dozens of occasions. Transport authorities banned travel by land and sea in the southern and central Philippines. They left thousands of people stuck in ports.
The Southeast Asian nation postponed the beginning of the massive vaccination drive in most of the country due to the storm.
Eric is a professional news editor, writer, and blogger for the last 10 years. He is working with NewsGater as an off-beat news editor cum writer.