Typhoon Hagupit weakened into a tropical storm Monday, leaving at least 21 people dead and destroying nearly 1,000 homes, the Philippine Red Cross said.
The storm, known locally as Ruby, is expected to bring heavy rains as it passes close to the capital Manila, which has a population of more than 12 million people, on Monday evening.
More than a million people fled to emergency shelters and to safer ground before Hagupit, or 'smash' in Filipino, made landfall in Eastern Samar late Saturday. On Monday, officials said about 260,000 families were in evacuation centers.
The BBC reported Monday that thousands of people were heading home. Schools, government offices and stock markets closed as the storm approached Manila.
The storm comes 13 months after Super Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the island nation, leaving more than 7,300 people dead or missing.
While the worst was over in central island provinces, Manila and outlying provinces braced as the storm blew nearer, with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour and gusts of 84mph. Forecasters said the storm was expected to slam into a Batangas provincial town about 68 miles south of Manila by nightfall.
Children play on top of a fallen coconut tree blocking a highway in San Julian town, Eastern Samar province central Philippines on Dec. 8.(Photo: VINCENT GO, AFP/Getty Images)
Although considerably weaker from its peak power, the storm remains potentially dangerous and could still whip storm surges that could overwhelm coastal villages, they said.
While officials expressed relief that the storm had not caused major damage, they warned that Hagupit was still on course to barrel into the southern tip of the main northern island of Luzon where Manila is located, before starting to blow away Tuesday into the South China Sea.
Gwendolyn Pang, the secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, told CNN that Hagupit has destroyed nearly 1,000 homes.
Speaking from an evacuation center in the city of Legazpi, Pilar Rangosajo told the station: 'I am worried - I am thinking of my children and my grandchildren. They are so young, that's why we're here.
'It's so hard for me because every typhoon damages our home. We don't have the money to fix it.'
Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said more than 5,000 people living in a shantytown on the edge of Manila Bay have been evacuated due to possible storm surges.
'We've prepared and trained for this,' he told bberitaa.blogspot.com. He said his greatest fear was widespread flooding.
Contributing: Teresa Cerojano, Associated Press
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Posted by Unknown on Monday, December 8, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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