Super typhoon loses strength as it barrels towards eastern Philippines

A super typhoon blamed for the deaths of at least four people on islands in the western Pacific Ocean has weakened after reaching Philippine waters and is expected to further lose strength as it approaches the country’s northeastern coast, officials said today.

Esperanza Cayanan, an officer of the government’s weather bureau, said that as of this morning, Typhoon Maysak was 915 kilometres northeast of eastern Borongan city, packing winds of 175 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 210km/h.

It is moving northwest at 19km/h.

Officials said they had readied rescue teams and relief goods to prepare for Maysak’s landfall on Saturday evening or early Sunday in northeastern Aurora or Isabela provinces and warned tourists headed to beaches for the Easter holidays to exercise caution.

Storm surges of up to 3 metres tall are possible in the eastern coast, while moderate to heavy rains are expected within a 200-kilometre radius from the typhoon’s eye.

The weather bureau is set to issue a low-level storm warning later today for the eastern provinces, which will suspend sea travel. The military went on alert Wednesday in the northern Philippines.