Two Dead As Typhoon Doksuri Batters Philippines

Manila, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Jul, 2023 ) :A powerful storm pounded the northern Philippines on Wednesday, killing at least two people, toppling trees and knocking out power as thousands sheltered with neighbours or in emergency evacuation centres.

Typhoon Doksuri was "slowly moving away from Dalupiri Island", off the northern tip of the main island of Luzon, and into open waters, the state weather agency said in its 0900 GMT update.

The agency earlier warned of "violent, life-threatening conditions" as severe maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometres an hour (110 mph) and heavy rain pounded the lightly populated region.

A woman selling bread rolls died when she was hit by a falling coconut tree in the northern province of Isabela on Wednesday, provincial disaster official Constante Foronda told AFP.

A 16-year-old boy was crushed to death Wednesday when a landslide struck a house in the northern mountain city of Baguio, city disaster official Julius Santos told AFP.

Rey Aguinaldo, a retired government official in the coastal Ilocos Norte province, said: "The wind and rain were so strong overnight I could not sleep well." "When I got up today, I saw fallen trees and broken branches outside. We have no electricity," he told AFP.

Doksuri had been a super typhoon as it swept across the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday but weakened as it neared the Philippines.

The storm is expected to weaken as it moves across the South China Sea, grazing Taiwan before making landfall in southeast China on Friday.

High waves lashed southeastern Taiwan coast on Wednesday, with the Central Weather Bureau issuing warnings and heavy rain advisories.

China also issued its highest alert for Doksuri, stopping trains and calling fishing boats to shore as the storm approaches.