Mapped: Typhoon Usagi weakens over Philippines but Taiwan braces for severe weather
Typhoon Usagi weakened over the Philippines on Thursday afternoon but was still expected to bring damaging winds to parts of Taiwan early Friday morning.
Packing sustained winds of 132mph, the typhoon could uproot small trees and tear off roof shingles, forecasters said. Heavy rains accompanying the storm were likely to result in flash flooding in low-lying and inland areas, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.
Usagi, named Ofel in the Philippines, continued its west-northwest track across the Philippine Sea early on Wednesday, moving towards Luzon. As of 11am local time on Wednesday, the centre of the storm was located nearly 722km east of the capital city, Manila.
It was forecast to approach the Cagayan province on Thursday afternoon before making landfall on the Camiguin Island later in the day.
The storm was expected to move close to the Batanes province early on Friday, shift northeastward, weaken to a tropical storm and approach Pingtung county in Taiwan by the afternoon.
The storm could then move towards Japan's Miyako Islands in Okinawa Prefecture late on Saturday, forecasters said, and weaken further to a tropical depression by early Monday.
Philippine authorities evacuated people in Cordillera, Ilocos and Cagayan valley regions even as much of the northern and central parts of the country were still recovering from devastation caused by recent storms Trami, Kong-rey, Yinxing and Toraji.
The Philippines, Japan, Taiwan, and even US territories like Guam are frequently battered by storms during the typhoon season from July to mid-December.
Severe weather could cause disruptions in business operations, transportation and utilities in the affected regions, authorities warned, with some roads and bridges potentially becoming impassable.
Regional airports could experience flight delays or cancellations and ports might face temporary closures.
In a rare occurrence, four storms have been simultaneously active in the Western Pacific Ocean this month. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, this is the first time since records began in 1951 that so many storms have been present in the Pacific basin during November.
