MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A tropical storm hurtling toward the Philippines has strengthened into a typhoon.
Typhoon Rammasun has sustained winds of 75 miles per hour with gusts topping 90. It’s expected to smash into land later Tuesday in Albay or Sorsogon provinces.
Disaster-response authorities have begun evacuating thousands of people from villages prone to floods and landslides. Schools have suspended classes in several cities in the typhoon’s expected path, including in the capital, Manila.
Officials say rescue teams have been positioned near disaster-prone regions, along with packs of food and medicine, army trucks and ambulance vans.
Albay is about 212 miles southeast of Manila. The disaster-prone province is where mudslides from the country’s most active volcano buried villages in 2006, leaving about 1,600 people dead and missing.
A government weather forecaster says the storm may blow across Manila Wednesday morning.
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APPHOTO XAF103: Filipino fishermen check on their boat that are docked on top of piles of garbage as they prepare for a coming storm along a coastal village in Navotas, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday, July 14, 2014. The Philippines is bracing for possible floods and landslides as Tropical Storm Rammasun, locally called “Glenda”, intensified while moving closer to the eastern seaboard. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (14 Jul 2014)
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APPHOTO XAF102: A Filipino walks small fishing boats docked beside a coastal village of Navotas, north of Manila, Philippines as they prepare for a coming storm on Monday, July 14, 2014. The Philippines is bracing for possible floods and landslides as Tropical Storm Rammasun, locally called “Glenda”, intensified while moving closer to the eastern seaboard. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (14 Jul 2014)
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APPHOTO XAF101: A Filipino fisherman covers parts of his boat that is docked on top of piles of garbage as he prepares for a coming storm along a coastal village in Navotas, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday, July 14, 2014. The Philippines is bracing for possible floods and landslides as Tropical Storm Rammasun, locally called “Glenda”, intensified while moving closer to the eastern seaboard. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (14 Jul 2014)
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