Severe storm Doksuri strengthens as the Philippines battens down
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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced that public school classes in Metro Manila will be suspended on July 24.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MANILA – Doksuri, which has intensified into a severe tropical storm, may strengthen to a typhoon in the coming days, prompting the Philippines to scale back activity in the capital on Monday before it is forecast to head towards China.
Doksuri, called Egay in the Philippines, is moving westward at 15kmh, with maximum sustained winds of 95kmh and gusts of up to 115kmh, state forecaster Pagasa said.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced on Saturday that government work and public school classes in Metro Manila will be suspended on Monday, when Doksuri is forecast to make its closest approach to the capital.
Mr Marcos, who is set to deliver his State of the Nation Address that day, cited weather risks and a scheduled transport strike for the suspension.
The weather bureau said flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to the hazard. Pagasa said that although the latest track shows the storm remaining offshore, a close approach or landfall in the northernmost part of Luzon had not been ruled out. Metro Manila – which is home to more than 13 million people – is located on the south-western side of central Luzon.
The Philippine Stock Exchange and the Bankers Association of the Philippines have yet to announce if the stock market and currency trading will also be suspended on Monday. The Bureau of the Treasury said a weekly Treasury bills auction will be moved to Tuesday due to the suspension.
The US military’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre located Doksuri 464 nautical miles east of Manila. It forecast the storm would make its closest point of approach to Taipei at 104 nautical miles and Hong Kong at 321 nautical miles on Thursday, before it heads to Shanghai the following day.
Doksuri may become the first typhoon to hit Taiwan since 2019, according to forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan of Taiwan’s Central Forecast Centre. The initial impact on outer-region circulation may be felt on Tuesday, with direct effects from Wednesday to Thursday, Mr Chang said.
According to the Hong Kong Observatory, the chance of Doksuri moving towards the coast of eastern Guangdong “still cannot be ruled out” as it is forecast to “gradually” edge closer to the vicinity of Taiwan this week. BLOOMBERG
