(Bloomberg) -- Storm Yagi killed at least 15 people in the Philippines and forced thousands to flee to safer ground, and is now strengthening as it makes its way to China.
The cyclone intensified into a severe tropical storm, packing maximum winds of 85 kilometers (53 miles) per hour and gusts up to 115 km per hour, Philippine weather bureau Pagasa said in a 5 p.m. report. Yagi is expected to strengthen further into a typhoon on Thursday, with its intensity peaking early Saturday before making landfall in China. Hainan island and Vietnam are along Yagi’s path, according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
At least nine people died in Rizal province and other parts of a region east to south of Metro Manila, as non-stop rain triggered flash floods and landslides, police said. Three more were killed in the Bicol region and three others in central and western Visayas because of drowning, electrocution or injuries caused by collapsed walls, authorities said.
“Everybody prepared but the question is when do we say we prepared enough?,” Edgar Posadas, spokesman of the Philippines’ disaster risk-reduction agency, told ANC News Channel. “Most of the deaths were caused by drowning.”
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a low-level cyclone warning, which will remain in force until at least noon Wednesday. It will consider issuing a stronger warning tomorrow.
“As Yagi gradually edges closer to the coast of southern China, winds over the region will strengthen,” it said in a bulletin.
While the storm is moving away from the Philippines, the southwest monsoon will continue bringing moderate to intense rains in parts of the densely populated Luzon island over the next three days, the nation’s weather bureau said.
Schools and government offices in Manila and nearby provinces remained shut for a second straight day on Tuesday. Foreign-currency trading that was suspended Monday afternoon resumed. Stock trading has been uninterrupted.
The disruptions in the Philippines come barely a week after heavy monsoon rains flooded parts of Metro Manila and other areas of the country. In July, more than 30 people died as Typhoon Gaemi brought floods and landslides.
An orange rainfall warning, the second-highest in a three-level alert system, remains active in some parts of Luzon. Two dozen domestic flights were canceled on Tuesday, the airport authority said.
The Southeast Asian nation is one of the most natural disaster-prone countries in the world, with about 20 cyclones passing through each year, causing deaths and damage to agriculture, homes and infrastructure. In 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,300 in the Southeast Asian nation.
--With assistance from Andreo Calonzo.
(Adds latest death toll, updated forecasts.)
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