Typhoon makes landfall
The Philippines has suffered weeks of devastating storms
The Philippines is bracing itself as Typhoon Mirinae is about to make landfall
Typhoon Mirinae, a strong category two storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, is due to strike the northern Philippines on Friday evening GMT. Mirinae is currently packing sustained winds of 100mph (161km/h) with gusts to 121mph (194km/h).
The storm is expected to unleash damaging winds in excess of 100mph as it reaches the coast, with torrential rain producing more than 500mm (20 inches) across a wide area which are likely to trigger numerous landslides. The 'eye' (centre of the storm) of Mirinae is forecast to pass over or just near to the capital, Manila, during Saturday.
Although Mirinae will weaken as it moves west over land, it is forecast regain strength as it enters the warm waters of the South China Sea and tracks towards Vietnam.
Residents, government workers and aid agencies are still struggling to cope with the aftermath of Typhoon Ketsana that battered the Philippines on 26th September and Typhoon Parma that hit one week later. As Typhoon Mirinae looms, nearly 1.5 million people are still living in flooded districts and around 163,000 are homeless.
