Typhoon Melor threatens the Philippines (Source :CNN) Hanoi (VNA) – More than 700,000 people in the central Philippines have evacuated to safe areas for fear of huge waves, flood and landslides as tropical storm Melor hit the country on December 14, according to Philippine authorities.
According to the Philippines Weather Bureau, in the morning of December 14 the storm with winds gusting up to 185 km per hour slammed the northernmost of Samar, an island of 1.5 million people in central Philippines. There were no reports of causalities or damage.
Samar Island was among areas devastated in 2013 by Typhoon Haiyan, which left 7,350 people dead or missing.
Typhoon Melor is forecast to sweep across the central heartlands early December 15 before heading to the East Sea.
The Philippines is battered by an average of 20 typhoons annually. Typhoon Koppu, the last deadly storm to hit the country, smashed northern Philippines in October, killing 54 people and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes .-VNA
