Ready for Typhoon Mawar

Disaster shield: Policemen helping residents reinforce the roof of their homes in Ivana town, Batanes province. — AFP

OFFICIALS began evacuating thousands of villagers, shut down schools and offices and imposed a no-sail ban as Typhoon Mawar approached the country’s northern provinces a week after battering the US territory of Guam.

The typhoon is packing maximum sustained winds of 155kph and gusts of up to 190kph but is forecast to spare the mountainous region a direct hit. Current projections show the typhoon veering northeast toward Taiwan or southern Japan.