Thousands of people in the Philippines have fled their homes and beachfront resorts as a powerful typhoon lashed the archipelago Thursday, with authorities warning of destructive winds and torrential rain.
Typhoon Rai was packing maximum sustained winds of 165 kilometres an hour as it barrelled towards central and southern regions of the vast archipelago, the state weather agency said.
"Destructive typhoon-force winds... may bring moderate to heavy damage to structures and vegetation," it added. Scores of flights have been cancelled and dozens of ports temporarily closed as the weather bureau warned several metre-high storm surges could cause"life-threatening flooding" in low-lying coastal areas.
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