Super Typhoon hits Philippines, landslides and flash floods expected
Super Typhoon Haima is about to hit northern Luzon island in the Philippines; this comes just days after Typhoon Sarika, so there is a higher likelihood of deadly landslides and flash floods due to the saturated soil. It is the third strongest typhoon this season, according to CNN Meteorologist Taylor Ward. Weather agencies are comparing its potential impact to that of Super Typhoon Haiyan which killed around 6,000 people in 2013. "Current projections take the storm into eastern Guangdong province, to the east of Hong Kong, but we will keep a close eye on Hong Kong in the coming days as some models take the storm fairly close," warns Ward.

Story highlights Typhoon Haima makes landfall in Philippines, impacting more than 60,000 people After hitting the Philippines, it's expected to veer northwest toward the Chinese coast

CNN —

Heavy damage to infrastructure and agriculture is expected in northeast Philippines, officials said Thursday, as the cleanup began in the wake of Typhoon Haima.

Haima was the second typhoon to hit Philippines in less than a week, lashing the country with torrential rain and raging winds.

It made landfall on the northeastern end of the archipelago about 11 p.m. (11 a.m. ET )Wednesday. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center downgraded it from a super typhoon before it hit land.

Winds of 220 kilometers per hour (137 mph) prior to arrival put it on par with a Category 4 hurricane, the center said. It’s expected to affect as many as 2.7 million people in seven provinces before veering northwest toward the Chinese coast by Friday.

Crops and infrastructure are expected to be worst hit in areas close to the typhoon’s path, a spokesperson for the Philippines’ National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.

Haima is now heading towards China, where work teams have already been deployed to Guangdong province in anticipation of its arrival, according to Xinhua.

Thousands in evacuations centers

More than 60,000 people have already been affected by the typhoon, as it traveled across the Philippines, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, with almost 15,000 people in evacuation centers.

Hundreds of thousands of food packs were ready to be deployed by the government early on Thursday morning.

At its peak, Haima packed winds of up to 315 kilometers per hour (195 mph), the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

It is the third-strongest typhoon of the season, behind Nepartak and Meranti, both of which lashed Taiwan and China.

Typhoon Haima will be much weaker by the time it heads toward China, CNN meteorologists said, though flooding could still occur.

Sarika

Typhoon Sarika has caused widespread damage across the Philippines after striking Sunday. UNICEF/UNICEF

According to data going back to 1950 from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Haima will be just the third time back-to-back storms with an intensity of Category 4 or higher have hit the Philippines.

At least three people were killed as Typhoon Sarika crossed the archipelago north of Manila. Almost 10,000 people were displaced by the storm, according to aid organization Care International.

That weather system has since made landfall on the southern Chinese island of Hainan.

About 500,000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm, Xinhua reported.