U.S., Philippines brace for devastating storms
- 6 years ago
The outer bands of Hurricane Florence have begun lashing the U.S. coastal state of North Carolina with heavy winds and rain.
On the other side of the globe, another potentially devastating typhoon is inching closer to the Philippines.
For more on this and other news around the world let's turn to our Ro Aram….
Aram… what's the latest?
Well Mark…If we start with Hurricane Florence….it has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, but officials are warning that it remains very dangerous.
Although winds have weakened slightly, they are still clocking a powerful 165 kilometers per hour.
Heavy rain has also started to drench the coast of North Carolina and roads have already flooded.
The worst is yet to be seen as the hurricane is expected to hover over the Carolinas for days, whipping hurricane-force winds and dumping relentless rain.
The eye of the storm is forecast to make landfall on Friday afternoon, local time.
About a million people across three states have been ordered to evacuate.
Thousands of residents have fled further inland, while others are staying in emergency shelters.
Meanwhile, thousands of people have also begun fleeing coastal areas of the Philippines as a super typhoon heads towards the north of the country.
Typhoon Mangkhut is due to make landfall on Luzon Island by Saturday and was packing winds of 285 kilometers per hour.
That is the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane and much stronger than Hurricane Florence.
Mangkhut is being described as the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year.
It has already torn through the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, with some parts still out of power on Thursday.
Southern parts of China, including Hong Kong are also bracing the typhoon's arrival later in the weekend.
On the other side of the globe, another potentially devastating typhoon is inching closer to the Philippines.
For more on this and other news around the world let's turn to our Ro Aram….
Aram… what's the latest?
Well Mark…If we start with Hurricane Florence….it has been downgraded to a Category 2 storm, but officials are warning that it remains very dangerous.
Although winds have weakened slightly, they are still clocking a powerful 165 kilometers per hour.
Heavy rain has also started to drench the coast of North Carolina and roads have already flooded.
The worst is yet to be seen as the hurricane is expected to hover over the Carolinas for days, whipping hurricane-force winds and dumping relentless rain.
The eye of the storm is forecast to make landfall on Friday afternoon, local time.
About a million people across three states have been ordered to evacuate.
Thousands of residents have fled further inland, while others are staying in emergency shelters.
Meanwhile, thousands of people have also begun fleeing coastal areas of the Philippines as a super typhoon heads towards the north of the country.
Typhoon Mangkhut is due to make landfall on Luzon Island by Saturday and was packing winds of 285 kilometers per hour.
That is the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane and much stronger than Hurricane Florence.
Mangkhut is being described as the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year.
It has already torn through the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, with some parts still out of power on Thursday.
Southern parts of China, including Hong Kong are also bracing the typhoon's arrival later in the weekend.