Typhoon Blows Into the Philippines
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A typhoon blew into the northern Philippines on Friday, complicating the country’s disaster response to a deadly earthquake in a central province and two other recent storms.
Typhoon Matmo blew into Dinapigue town in Isabela province from the Pacific with sustained winds up to 130 kph (81 mph) and was to blow northwestward over a vast agricultural valley and mountain provinces, where residents in some flood- and landslide-prone villages were evacuating.
Schools suspended classes, and cargo and fishing vessels were prohibited from entering the rough seas along the path of the typhoon. It was expected to blow into the South China Sea on Saturday on a course toward southern China, Philippine forecasters said.
Hong Kong’s observatory said Matmo would pass by the territory on an expected path toward Hainan Island and the mainland’s Guangdong province over the weekend, the AP reported.
Matmo, locally known as Paolo, was the 16th tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines this year. The Southeast Asian archipelago nation is lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms a year and lies on the seismically active Pacific “Ring of Fire,” making it one of the countries most prone to natural disasters.
