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MANILA • The Philippines evacuated nearly 1,800 people and suspended travel by sea as Tropical Storm Molave was expected to bring widespread rains in two regions in the southern part of the main island of Luzon yesterday.
Tropical cyclone wind alerts were issued for several provinces in the Bicol and Calabarzon regions and Storm Molave is expected to make landfall later in the day as it traverses the southern Luzon area, the national meteorological office said.
“Further intensification is still likely before making landfall in the Bicol region,” it warned in a bulletin.
Molave follows Tropical Storm Saudel, which last week caused widespread flooding in Quezon province in the Calabarzon region, southeast of the capital Manila.
After crossing the Philippine archipelago, Molave was expected to continue to intensify over the South China Sea, possibly reaching typhoon status tomorrow night, he said.
His current planned trajectory will take him to Vietnam, which has already suffered a series of storms, as well as deadly floods and landslides.
Sea voyage operations were canceled in the Calabarzon region, and 662 people were reportedly stranded in ports due to high winds, according to the disaster monitoring agency.
In the Bicol provinces, a total of 532 families, or 1,789 people, were preemptively evacuated to temporary shelters, he said.
REUTERS
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