Typhoon Koppu slammed into the northern Philippines Sunday, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes amid heavy rains and strong winds that could last up to three days, dpa reported. Koppu weakened slightly as it made landfall over Casiguran town in Aurora province, 215 kilometres north of Manila, but "has remained almost stationary," the weather bureau said. The typhoon was packing maximum winds of 150 kilometres per hour (kph) with gusts of up to 185 kph. The bureau raised storm signal warnings over 26 provinces and Manila. "There is still danger so we should not put our guard down," chief weather forecaster Esperanza Cayanan said. "We should still be careful. Coastal areas are still dangerous and it is not safe for small boats to go out to sea." Koppu toppled trees and ripped off rooftops, while more than 14,000 people evacuated their homes amid warnings of flash floods and storm surges up to 3 metres. Dozens of domestic flights were cancelled, and sea travel was suspended due to choppy seas, stranding more than 5,000 passengers, the disaster relief agency said.
