Powerful typhoon batters the Philippines

AP ^ | Nov 29, 2006 | HRVOJE HRANJSKI

[jdm]

MANILA, Philippines - A powerful typhoon battered the eastern Philippines on Thursday, cutting off power to thousands of homes and stranding of ferry passengers as it churned toward Manila.

With sustained winds of 119 mph and gusts of up to 140 mph, Durian has become a major typhoon, said chief weather forecaster Nathaniel Cruz.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the island province of Catanduanes, about 230 miles east of Manila, after authorities ordered the evacuation of coastal areas before the storm struck, said Arthur Goleze, deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense.

Catanduanes residents said the winds were so strong it felt like an earthquake as the typhoon's eye passed through early Thursday, Manila Radio DZBB reported.

Radio reports said electricity was cut off to thousands of people in Bicol, while nearly 2,000 ferry passengers were stranded after the coast guard grounded all vessels.

Meanwhile, officials suspended school classes in Manila, where the typhoon was expected to hit early Friday, and placed more than 25 northern provinces under alerts that included the possibility of landslides and flash floods.

Manila authorities also directed billboard owners to pull down their tarpaulins to prevent the repeated collapse of such structures that killed at least one person when another typhoon pummeled the city in September.

The super typhoon, named for a pungent fruit native to Southeast Asia, was the fourth to hit the Philippines in as many months.

In late September, Typhoon Xangsane left 230 people dead and missing in and around Manila. Typhoon Cimaron killed 19 people and injured 58 others last month, and earlier this month, Chebi sliced through the central Luzon region, killing one.

[JennysCool]

Art Bell sure picked a helluva time to relocate!

[jdm]

lol!

[DrGunsforHands]

Winds are above 155 mph now, meaning this thing is a Cat 5.