Philippines halts work, classes as super typhoon barrels toward Luzon

The Philippines suspended work and classes across Metro Manila and large parts of the country on Monday as Super Typhoon Ragasa moved toward northern Luzon, threatening destructive winds and heavy rain.

State weather officials raised the highest typhoon warning over the remote Babuyan Islands, urging residents in low-lying and coastal communities to evacuate ahead of storm surges and possible flooding.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 205 kph (127 mph) and gusts of up to 250 kph, Ragasa was forecast to make landfall or brush past the Babuyan Islands around midday before crossing the Luzon Strait.

While it will not directly hit Taiwan, the typhoon's outer band is expected to bring heavy rain to the island's sparsely populated east coast. Taiwan has issued land and sea warnings and cancelled flights to eastern cities, including Taitung and Hualien.

The storm is then forecast to hit Hong Kong as it blows toward the coast of southern China. The financial hub has asked residents to prepare for one of the strongest typhoons in years and is considering shutting its airport for 36 hours, Bloomberg News reported.

Philippine forecasters warned of widespread power outages, landslides, and dangerous seas as the storm's outer bands began lashing northern Luzon. Airlines have cancelled more than a dozen domestic flights, mostly on Luzon routes, while ports have suspended ferry services.

(Reuters)