MANILA, Philippines—A powerful typhoon slammed into the northeastern Philippines on Sunday and was barreling across the main Luzon island toward the capital in a densely populated path where thousands have been evacuated to safety.
Typhoon Noru hit the coastal town of Burdeos on Polillo Island in Quezon province shortly before nightfall.
With sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 240 kph (149 mph), it was expected to weaken slightly when it hits the Sierra Madre mountain range but will remain dangerously ferocious, forecasters said.
“The typhoon is strong and we live by the sea,” said Marilen Yubatan, who left her shanty in Manila with her two young daughters. “If we fall into the water, I don’t know where I will end up with my children.”…