Philippines: nearly 9,000 evacuated as typhoon Molave approaches
Nearly 9,000 people had to flee their homes in the Philippines as typhoon Molave made landfall in provinces on the southern part of the main Luzon island on October 25, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
A resident holds onto his umbrella in strong wind as others stand by their wooden boats along the coastal area of Legaspi City, Albay province south of Manila on October 25 (Photo: AFP)
Hanoi (VNA) – Nearly 9,000 people had toflee their homes in the Philippines as typhoon Molave made landfall in provinceson the southern part of the main Luzon island on October 25, bringing heavyrain and strong winds.
Packing top sustained winds of 130kph, Molave intensified into a tropical stormas it moved westward and made landfall over San Miguel island in Albay provinceearly in the evening.
The natural disaster monitoring agency of the Philippines said it had receivedmany reports of damage to bridges and roads, as well as a number of landslidesand inundations in some areas.
Vessels indangerous waters must also be suspended, the agency noted. According to the agency, nearly 600 people were trapped in many seaports due tostrong winds.
Meanwhile, the local weather bureau warned of waves as high as 2 metres (6.5feet) in coastal areas in Samar province, the Bicol region and the central andsouthern portions of Quezon province.
Tropical cyclonewind alerts were issued for several provinces in the Bicol and Calabarzonregions, and several provinces in central Philippines, as well as for MetroManila and central Luzon provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan and Zambales.
Molave is expectedto continue intensifying over the East Sea after crossing the Philippine, theweather bureau said./.
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The Philippines evacuated nearly 1,800 people and suspended sea travel as tropical storm Molave was expected to bring widespread rains over two regions on the southern part of the main island of Luzon on October 25.
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A resident holds onto his umbrella in strong wind as others stand by their wooden boats along the coastal area of Legaspi City, Albay province south of Manila on October 25 (Photo: AFP) 
