NU Online News Service, Oct. 18, 11:27 a.m. EDT
In the Philippines, thousands evacuated and farmers rushed to harvest as many crops as possible as Super Typhoon Megi made landfall with maximum sustained winds of about 140 miles per hour.
The storm is the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with gusts up to more than 170 mph.
Modeler Risk Management Solutions (RMS) said that as of Monday morning, Megi was located over the province of Isabella. The province of Cagayan was also on high alert as reports of fallen trees and down powers lines have begun to roll in. Transportation disruptions were also reported as ships were ordered to remain docked and flights were canceled, RMS said.
Forecasters were telling resident to prepare for heavy rain, strong winds and waves off the east coast of more than 46 feet.
The capital city of Manila, because it is on the left side of the storm, will not be hit by Megi's strongest winds, said modeler AIR Worldwide. However, RMS said the affected regions include the country's main rice-growing areas.
AIR said Megi is the 13th named storm of the Northwest Pacific storm season--a much lower count than the average of 30 named storms. No season in history has seen fewer than 22 storms.
Though it is forecast to weaken over land, Megi is expected to regain strength over the next 24 to 35 hours in the South China Sea after passing over the Philippines today, RMS said.
Super Typhoon Mike had sustained winds of about 140 mph when it made landfall in the Philippines in November 1990. The storm caused about $365 million in today's dollars, making it the most expensive in the history of the islands.
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