Forecasters have warned of a possible “extreme threat” to life and property from Noru, also known as Super Typhoon Karding. The storm reached “super typhoon category after a period of explosive intensity,” they said. Although the storm was expected to weaken by Monday as it crossed the main island of Luzon, which includes Manila, and made landfall, officials said it was “very likely” it would “remain a typhoon during landfall.” In Manila, rescue crews on Sunday were preparing rubber boats and life jackets as authorities began evacuating people from coastal areas. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday canceled classes in public schools and closed non-emergency government buildings in an effort to keep people indoors and away from the storm’s path, his office said on social media. Local flights were disrupted and dozens of international and domestic flights were canceled due to the weather, including a United Airlines flight to Guam, authorities said. The US Embassy has rescheduled all consular appointments for Monday in Manila. Curtis S. Chin, former US ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, said his thoughts were with those in the Philippines as he shared a visualization of the storm that rapidly grew in strength between Saturday and Sunday. The typhoon is forecast to bring large waves, torrential rain and wind gusts of up to 127 miles per hour to the northern island of Luzon – home to a population of more than 64 million people – over the next 24 hours. “Under these conditions, scattered to widespread rain-triggered flooding and landslides are expected, especially in areas that are highly or highly susceptible to these hazards as identified in hazard maps and in locations with significant past rainfall,” Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said. At 5:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, the agency said the eye of the storm had made landfall near Burdeos, a municipal area in the Quezon province of the Polillo Islands. It predicts a “high to very high risk” of storm surges of about 10 feet or more in the low-lying and exposed coastal areas of northern Quezon, Polillo Islands and Aurora. “Heavy to heavy rains with occasional torrential rains” are expected until Monday morning over Metro Manila, which includes Quezon City, nearby provinces and northern Quezon. Fiona slams into Atlantic Canada, leaving devastation, disruption in its wake Noru is one of several tropical storms to hit the Philippines this year. The capital and northern provinces are recovering from last month’s cyclone that caused floods and landslides and killed three people, according to Reuters. Scientists say global warming is increasing the intensity of storms, bringing more frequent and severe weather events worldwide. The undeniable link between weather disasters and climate change One of the strongest storms ever to hit Canada hit the coast of Nova Scotia on Saturday, leaving much of Nova Scotia and nearly all of Prince Edward Island without power. Former Hurricane Fiona is the lowest pressure storm on record in Canada, according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre, which also reported hurricane gusts hitting the region. Meanwhile, a tropical storm known as Ian has passed through the central Caribbean, a journey that weather experts say could end up in a collision with Florida on Thursday as a hurricane. Noru is forecast to be a Category 5 storm at its peak, posing an “extreme threat to life and property,” weather officials said. Matthew Cappucci, Selena Ross and Sydney Page contributed to this report.
