Over 1,000 flee as typhoon threatens northern Philippines

Soldiers evacuate families living near the Bulusan volcano in Irosin town, Sorsogon province, south of Manila on May 8, 2015, ahead of Typhoon Noul approaching the province. -AFP

MANILA: More than 1,000 people were evacuated from their homes as Typhoon Noul approached the northern Philippines, threatening flash floods, landslides and tsunami-like storm surges, government agencies warned on Sunday.

The storm’s movement has slowed slightly but it has also strengthened to pack gusts of 205 kilometres (127 miles) per hour and is still expected to hit the northern edge of the main island of Luzon by Sunday afternoon or evening, according to Esperanza Cayanan, chief of the government’s weather monitoring division.