Strongest Typhoon in Decade Hits Philippines; 20 Die
The most powerful typhoon to hit the storm-prone Philippines in a decade howled across the main island of Luzon today, killing at least 20 people and forcing 200,000 to flee their homes.
Typhoon Angela roared out of the Pacific with winds of up to 167 m.p.h., hitting the Bicol region at the southern end of Luzon late Thursday.
The Pacific storm season has been so heavy this year that forecasters have already run through the alphabet and are back to “A” again. Angela is the 27th Pacific storm of the season.
Angela struck less than a week after Typhoon Zack killed more than 160 people in the central Philippines and devastated rice and sugar crops.
Officials said more than 200,000 people, including 10,000 in Manila, the capital, had fled to evacuation centers.
“The winds are so powerful [that] people in tall buildings here feel they are being hit by an earthquake,” said Gov. Severo Alcantara of Catanduanes, which is about 220 miles east of Manila.
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