Super Typhoon Rai, Cat 5, Slams Into Philippines

Vicious Super Typhoon Rai slams into the Philippines as Category 5 storm with 185mph winds prompting evacuation of tens of thousands in videos and pictures – Heavy rains, giant waves, major risk of flooding

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Super Typhoon Rai, known locally as Odette, slammed into the eastern coast of the Philippines on Thursday afternoon, bringing torrential rain and the threat of widespread flooding across the archipelago.

The storm intensified rapidly as it approached the coast, strengthening from a Category 1 to a Category 5 storm in just 24 hours.

By the time it made landfall on Siargao Island, a popular tourist and surfing destination on the central east coast, the storm had reached sustained winds of 260 kilometers per hour (160 miles per hour) with gusts over 300 kilometers per hour (185 miles per hour).

Around 198,000 people have already evacuated from their homes to government shelters, the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Thursday.

Many preemptive evacuations and storm preparations began earlier in the week as the country began seeing heavy rain. In central Misamis Oriental province, the Agay-ayan River overflowed on Tuesday, flooding streets and homes with muddy brown water.

The super typhoon is expected to travel through the country’s central and southern regions. Some of the worst conditions are expected in Surigao Province, which lies on the northern tip of Mindanao, one of the country’s major islands.