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Millions in path of typhoon Nock-ten spinning towards the Philippines

Peter Hannam
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A powerful late-season typhoon Nock-ten is spinning towards the Philippines, potentially crossing near the capital Manila on Boxing Day.

Philippine authorities on Saturday started evacuating thousands or people from coastal villages in the country's central region ahead of strong winds and heavy rains.

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Typhoon Nock-ten to make landfall on Christmas

Severe tropical storm Nock-ten gains intensity as it moves closer to the Philippines, threatening to cross the capital Manila on Boxing Day.

The tropical storm – dubbed Nina in the Philippines – was generating sustained winds of more than 160 km/h, with gusts exceeding 200 km/h, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre. 

Forecasts by the centre estimate peak sustained winds of the tempest could reach as much as 222 km/h, ranking it as a category 4 super typhoon. 

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The storm is expected to reach the Bicol region of eastern Philippines on Christmas Day, as a category-2 storm or stronger, Weather.com reported. That landfall is likely to weaken Nock-ten as it swirls westwards over Luzon island, reaching the Manila region on Monday.

Mina Marasigan, a spokeswoman for the national disaster agency, said villagers in both Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte provinces had been told to move to temporary shelters. Albay is a province south of Camarines Sur.  

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Authorities raised typhoon alert levels in nine provinces along the eastern seaboard, and suspended land, sea and air travel until after Sunday to avoid accidents.

Thousands of holiday travellers were stranded in transport terminals, with some flights already cancelled for the weekend in the central and north-eastern parts of the country.

(See JTWC chart below of the expected path of Nock-ten, based on Coordinated Universal Time.)

The storm could bring flooding rains and a storm surge as well as damaging winds to a region that is home to about 10 million people.

Christmas holidays may also complicate efforts to get residents to storm refuges and to identify missing people with many away from home for the festive season.

According to Philip Klotzbach, a meteorologist at Colorado State University in the US, Nock-ten is the strongest tropical cyclone this late in the year since at least 2001 when typhoon Faxai developed.

Significant wave heights associated with the storm could reach 40 feet, or 12 metres, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.

The regions of Southern Quezon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate including Ticao and Burias Island, Northern Samar, Samar and Eastern Samar were all placed under a Signal No. 1 typhoon warning, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.

In 2013, more than 6,000 died and 200,000 homes were destroyed after Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest-ever storm to make landfall in the Philippines, hit the central island of Leyte and Samar.

About 20 major typhoons pass through the Philippines each year. Since 1948, at least seven typhoons have hit the country during the Christmas period.

Warming up in Australia

In Australia's zone, meanwhile, Cyclone Yvette has dissipated into a tropical low off the north-west coast of Western Australia. 

Still, that storm, in combination with another monsoonal low, is directing warm, moist air over Australia. The set-up will bring sultry weather for the south-east of the country, potentially producing the hottest final week of the year for Sydney and Melbourne based on average day-night temperatures for half a century or longer, Weatherzone said.

For Sydney, temperatures will rise from an expected top of 27 degrees on Sunday, to days of 30-35 degrees out to New Year's Eve. Thursday is looking to be the hottest day, with the mercury reaching 41 degrees in parts of the west.

For Melbourne, Christmas Day may see a top of 36 degrees, the warmest for the day in at least 18 years. Temperatures will near or exceed 30 degrees each day out to Thursday.

Follow Peter Hannam on Twitter and Facebook.

With Reuters