Typhoon Nuri gathers strength near Philippines
Posted: 19 August 2008 1901 hrs

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MANILA : Typhoon Nuri picked up strength Tuesday as it barrelled across the Philippine Sea toward northern Luzon island, the state weather bureau said.

Nuri gathered more speed at sustained winds of 130 kilometres (80 miles) an hour at noon time, with gusts of up to 160 kilometres an hour, it said.

It was spotted east of Tuguegarao city in northern Luzon, and was on track to make landfall over Cagayan province by Wednesday morning.

Nuri was expected to bring heavy rains over large parts of Luzon, the country's largest and most populous island, as well as the central and southern Philippines, it said.

Coastal residents have been advised against possible storm surges while disaster relief agencies were told to prepare for any emergency, it said.

The Philippines is battered by an average of 20 typhoons a year, some of them devastating. Nuri is the 12th to hit the archipelago this year.

In June, a ferry with over 800 people sailed into the path of Typhoon Fengshen and sank in the central Philippines. There were only 57 survivors and many of those who perished still remain trapped inside the hull of the ferry.

- AFP/ms