Philippine authorities on Saturday urged residents living in flood-prone and mountainous areas to evacuate as Typhoon Nock-Ten nears the country's eastern coast, dpa reported. Nock-Ten was packing maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 215 kph as it neared the eastern Philippines, the weather bureau said. It was moving west-north-west at a slower speed of 15 kph and was expected to make landfall on Christmas Day, it added. Local officials were advised to "initiate pre-emptive evacuation of families in low-lying areas and mountainous areas if situations warrants," the national disaster risk management office said. More than 2,000 people were stranded in some ports after authorities cancelled sea travel because of choppy seas, local authorities said. An average of 20 typhoons batter the Philippines every year. In November 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,000 people and left more than a thousand missing in the eastern Philippines. Haiyan, the worst to hit the archipelago in decades, was one of the most powerful storms in the world to make landfall.
