Government weather bureau chief Graciano Yumul said the typhoon
is likely to make landfall Friday afternoon over Aurora and Isabela provinces.
It has already brought heavy rains to the Philippine archipelago's eastern
seaboard.
Yumul said the typhoon was packing winds of 80 miles (130 kilometers)
per hour and gusts of 100 mph (160 kph).
The storm was about 190 miles (310 kilometers) east of Northern
Samar province late Wednesday.
The typhoon is also expected to pass near Albay province on its
way to the northeast. Gov. Joey Salceda has ordered some 250,000 residents
there evacuated from coastal areas, flood- and landslide-prone villages, and
areas that would be in the path of debris from the Mayon volcano. He has offered
11 pounds (five kilograms) of rice as an incentive for each family that
evacuates.
In other provinces in the path of the typhoon, officials have
collected rubber boats and food supplies and put rescuers on standby.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda appealed to people living
near the typhoon's path to monitor news and to heed officials' calls for
evacuation if necessary.
“Local government officials have enough time to prepare, so
we hope we have a zero casualty,” he added.
Several domestic flights were canceled or diverted because
of stormy weather. Nearly 4,000 people are stranded in ports after the coast
guard barred sea travel in areas with typhoon warnings.
The capital Manila and the country's western
seaboard also experienced heavy downpour on Wednesday, but Yumul said that was
unrelated to the typhoon
