This past weekend, the third super typhoon of the season roared to life in the Philippine Sea, unleashing devastating flooding, damaging winds, and torrential rains throughout parts of the northern Philippines. The catastrophic Typhoon Noru is expected to hit more of Asia in the coming days, according to AccuWeather analysts.
In the aftermath of Noru, known as Karding in the Philippines, at least eight people were killed and hundreds more were displaced, while cleanup efforts began across Luzon, the country's northernmost and largest island.
Five government rescue workers drowned in the Bulacan province, north of Manila, on Sunday, after their boat overturned after being hit by a collapsing wall.
These rescuers perished in the same floodwaters from which they were attempting to save vulnerable residents.
At least three more persons were killed in the Philippines as a result of Noru. An elderly villager perished in a landslide, one man drowned after refusing to leave his house next to an overflowing river, and the body of a farmer was discovered in a plantation inundated by flash floods, according to local authorities.
Roughly 80,000 people were relocated to emergency shelters ahead of the storm's landfall, as per disaster-response officials.
The whole provinces of Aurora and Nueva Ecija were without electricity as of Monday. These two regions bore the brunt of Noru's devastating effects, according to The Associated Press.
Heavy rain from Noru began to fall on the Philippines late Saturday night and lasted most of Sunday.
As Noru unleashed severe rains over central and southern Luzon over the weekend, floodwaters soon inundated streets and homes. Floodwaters surged quickly as 4-8 inches of rain fell across the region.
Tanay, a town east of Manila in the mountainous region of Luzon, received 10.67 inches of rain in under 24 hours.
Manila itself recorded a general 2-4 inches of rain across the city. About 3,000 people were moved to safety across metropolitan Manila as Noru's rain and wind arrived, according to the AP. Classes and government work were suspended in the capital city as a precaution Monday.
This amount of rainfall over a relatively short time frame is not all that unusual for the city, forecasters say. Manila typically records around 14 inches of rain for the entire month of September.
Before it slammed the Philippines, Noru exploded in strength over the weekend. Early Saturday morning, Noru was classified as a tropical storm hundreds of miles east of the Philippines. By Saturday night, Noru had gained so much organization and strength that it was the equivalent of a Category 3 major hurricane in the Atlantic and East Pacific basins.
Noru maintained this strength as it approached the Philippines archipelago Sunday, according to the tropical authority for the basin, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, which is not the official authority for the basin, assessed Noru's power to be higher during the weekend and classed the cyclone as a super typhoon.
Noru made its first landfall on Sunday afternoon, crossing over the Polillo Islands. Noru made its second and last landfall in the Philippines a short time later.
At 8:20 p.m. Sunday, local time, Noru collided with Dingalan, a municipality in Aurora province. According to the JMA, Noru had the power of a Category 3 major hurricane at the time of both landfalls.
Noru's circulation and strength diminished when it passed over the most mountainous region of Luzon, yet it was still able to cause fatal flooding. Noru made its way into the South China Sea overnight on Sunday as a low-end Category 2 hurricane equivalent.
Forecasters say Noru will regain strength as it tracks westward across the South China Sea toward Vietnam this week.
"There is a good chance for Noru to become a Category 3 hurricane equivalent before it reaches central Vietnam late Tuesday night or early Wednesday, local time," AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls warned.
Produced in association with AccuWeather.
(Additional reporting provided by Saman Rizwan)
This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.
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