No relief for Philippines as Typhoon Maysak weakens

Despite predictions the category five typhoon will weaken to a tropical storm before making landfall on Sunday morning, Philippine authorities are preparing for the worst.

Interior Undersecretary Austere Panadero said police and local government units are preparing to move thousands of people before the worst of the storm hits, even if it means forced evacuations.
The weather bureau is warning that the former “super typhoon” could cause landslides, flash flooding, high tides, costal erosion and coastal flooding in the worst hit areas.

Maysak is expected to hit approximately 300km north of the Philippine capital Manila, and should have minimal impact but there is still potential for flash flooding and power outages due to fallen trees in the city.

Typhoon Maysak is currently situated about 455km east of Manila and is anticipated to make landfall over the central or northern part of the main Philippine Island, Luzon, around 9am local time on Sunday.

Strong winds and rains are expected to hit the eastern facing coasts on Saturday evening.
The system currently has sustained winds of 150km per hour with gusts of up to 185km per hour down from its peak of almost 260km per hour on Tuesday.

It is predicted that Maysak will continue to weaken before making landfall due to a combination of dry air and wind shear.

The Philippiness will be the second region to take the brunt of Maysak after the system hit the small Micronesian island of Ulithi on Tuesday.

The main Micronesian state of Chuuk declared a state of emergency after the island was devastated by the Typhoon while it was at its peak on Tuesday.

Ulithi has a population of less than 1000 and at least five people were killed by the disaster.
Guampdn.com reports that at least 95% of houses in the region were destroyed, leaving thousand displaced.