Xmas Day typhoon hits Philippines
A powerful typhoon with gusts of up to 235 kilometres (146 miles) an hour hit the Philippines late yesterday, disrupting Christmas celebrations for tens of thousands who fled its approach, officials said.
Typhoon Nock-Ten made landfall in the eastern island province of Catanduanes at 6:30 pm (1030 GMT), the state weather service said.
There were no immediate official reports of damage or casualties from the storm, one of the strongest this year to hit the disaster-prone archipelago on the Pacific Rim.
The military and local governments earlier moved at least 102,000 people from the coasts, provincial officials said, after experts warned of possible huge waves, floods and landslides.
The typhoon was forecast to sweep west and threaten the country's most densely populated areas including the capital Manila today morning.
Some 20 typhoons or lesser storms strike the Philippines each year, routinely killing hundreds of people.
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