Typhoon Hagupit slams into Philippines as thousands evacuate

More than 650,000 people were evacuating from coastal villages in the Philippines as Typhoon Haguipit made landfall early Saturday.

The storm weakened before hitting the town of Delores on the eastern coast, but the Philippines weather agency registered sustained winds of more than 100 mph and gusts of 130 mph, the Associated Press reported.

“There are many trees that have toppled, some of them on the highway,” police Senior Inspector Alex Robin told the AP. “We are totally in the dark here. The only light comes from flashlights.”

The typhoon knocked out power, downed trees and has canceled more than 150 flights since Friday. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

It was unlikely that Hagupit would reach the same intensity as Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the country in early November of 2013 and became one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded, but officials warned the heavy winds could still set off deadly storm surges and landslides. 

“Everybody is in fear because of what happened during (Haiyan),” Eastern Samar province Rep. Ben Evardone told the AP. “We can already feel the wrath of the typhoon. Everybody is praying.”

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