Filipinos protest outside a police station in Manila on Monday, calling for the release of protesters detained Sunday at a demonstration against government corruption, which they blame for a severe lack of flood control infrastructure that has resulted in some residents being inundated year-round. Photo by Francis R. Malasig/EPA
Sept. 22 (UPI) -- The Philippines was bracing for "catastrophic" damage Monday from a supertyphoon that came ashore in the far north of the country, packing winds of more than 140 mph and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.
The country's weather bureau said typhoon Ragasa posed a "high risk of life-threatening storm surge" in excess of 10 feet with authorities warning of extensive damage to property and infrastructure from flooding and landslides, as well as the wind.
Ragasa came ashore in the remote Batanes or Babuyan islands, about 60 miles off the northern coast of Luzon, the main island of the Philippine archipelago, bringing down power lines in Abra and Cagayan provinces on the mainland.
In Manila and across large areas of the country, schools and government offices were shut to reduce the risks to human health and safety from the supertyphoon, which is the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.
