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Philippines Braces for Flooding as Typhoon Koppu Intensifies

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  • 5,000 passengers stranded in seaports, 16 flights canceled
  • Aurora, nearby areas may be hit by up to 3-meter storm surges
Commuters ride on a locally-built cart known as 'trolley' which makes use of a railroad track on a typhoon-induced rain on Oct.17, in Manila.

Commuters ride on a locally-built cart known as 'trolley' which makes use of a railroad track on a typhoon-induced rain on Oct.17, in Manila.

 Photographer: Bullit Marquez/AP

The Philippines urged millions of its citizens along the path of Super Typhoon Koppu to prepare for flooding, water surges and landslides as the storm intensified hours before its expected Sunday landfall on the northern part of the main island of Luzon.

Koppu packed maximum winds of nearly 150 miles (241 kilometers) per hour, making it the equivalent of a Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir Simpson scale, according to the 5 p.m. bulletin of the U.S. Navy and Air Force’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The storm’s top winds are forecast to reach 161 mph, or Category 5 strength, as it makes landfall between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. New York time.