Hanoi (VNA) - The Philippines shut down schools and cancelled flights on July 24 as torrential rains driven by a typhoon and a separate tropical storm pounded the country’s northern island of Luzon.
Typhoon Co-May, which upgraded from a tropical storm overnight, has maximum sustained winds of 120kmh. The typhoon was expected to make landfall on the west coast in either La Union or Ilocos Sur by the morning of July 25, the country’s weather service said.
Around 70 domestic and international flights have been cancelled due to the storms, the Philippines’ Civil Aviation Authority said.
Heavy rain has worsened flooding that has persisted since July 18, caused by the earlier storm Wipha. As of July 24, thousands of residents in Manila remained unable to return home, with floodwaters submerging some neighbourhoods up to waist-deep.
Many in nearby provinces were stranded and had to be rescued by boat. Meanwhile, Storm Francisco was located approximately 735 km off the eastern coast of the Philippines and is moving northward towards Taiwan (China).
The storm is generating strong winds across Luzon. Although both storms are moving in a similar direction, forecasters expect them not to converge./.
A storm called Francisco, located 900km east of northern Luzon as of 10 am, is moving northward with sustained winds of 65 km/h and gusts up to 80 km per hour. It is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility by July 24 and head toward northern Taiwan.
As of July 20 morning, three people were reported dead in the Philippines, while three were injured and three others missing due to the effects of Wipha.
Two naval gunboats intercepted a fishing vessel carrying 1.5 tonnes of methamphetamine hydrochloride off the coast of the main island of Luzon just before dawn, in a joint operation with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
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The facility was established in response to a growing shift in the Filipino labour force from the Middle East to Japan, where workers are seeking safer working environments.
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Singapore led with a total of 8.8 billion USD in realised investment, followed by Hong Kong and mainland China, Malaysia, and Japan with 8 billion USD, 1.7 billion USD and 1.6 billion USD, respectively.
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