Typhoon Utor set to sweep into Philippines
Source: Reuters
MANILA, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Typhoon Utor was set to sweep into the central Philippines on Saturday, a day after it forced the government to hastily shelve a gathering of Asian leaders on a resort island south of its projected path. State weather forecasters said the second typhoon to crash into the archipelago in as many weeks would hit Samar island, around 600 km (375 miles) southeast of the capital, Manila, late in the morning. Utor, with gusts of up to 150 km (94 miles) per hour, was upgraded from a tropical storm to a category 1 typhoon, the weakest level, earlier on Saturday. On Friday, the Philippines postponed an annual summit of 16 Asian leaders until early January due to concerns the incoming storm could wreak havoc at the venue on the central island of Cebu. Presidents and prime ministers from 16 countries were due to start arriving on Cebu and nearby Mactan Island on Saturday for the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting and an East Asia summit on Dec. 11-13. Philippine officials insisted that the surprise move had nothing to do with warnings from the U.S., British and Australian governments earlier this week that terrorists were planning to bomb the gathering. Trade and foreign ministers from across the region also halted talks, which were meant to be held in Cebu on Saturday, and headed instead for the airport. Last week, Typhoon Durian swept through the Philippines, triggering landslides and floods that are feared to have killed over 1,000 people and forcing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to declare a state of calamity in Albay province, around 350 km north of Cebu. Two other typhoons, Cimaron and Chebi, hit the country in late October and early November, causing landslides and flashfloods in some areas and massive damage to property. Storms regularly hit the Philippines. In one of the worst disasters in recent years, more than 5,000 people died on the central island of Leyte in 1991 in floods triggered by a typhoon.
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