Storm-battered Philippines prepares for typhoon

Manila braced for another strong typhoon on Friday expected to dump heavy rains on the capital and agricultural provinces to its south.Billboard owners were instructed to roll up tarpaulins along Manila's main highway, Epifanio delos Santos Avenue, to prevent accidents from fallen materials in the event of strong winds. Schools were closed and domestic ferry services in Manila were suspended on Friday as Philippine authorities braced for a third strong typhoon in five weeks. Mirinae, a category 2 typhoon with maximum centre winds of 150 kph and gusts of up to 185 kph, was expected to make landfall on Saturday. It was moving towards Luzon island, where Manila is located, as of Friday morning at a speed of 20 km/h. The weather bureau said the critical period would be Friday night to early Saturday morning when the typhoon is expected to pass through Manila. In late September, Typhoon Ketsana dumped more than a month's worth of average rainfall on Manila and surrounding areas, leaving tens of thousands of people homeless and damaging more than 180,000 tonnes of paddy rice. About 80 percent of the capital was submerged by 2-3 metres of floodwaters. Nearly a month later, some areas remained flooded, causing a bacterial infection outbreak that has killed nearly 200 people. Another typhoon, Parma, hit the country's northernmost tip early this month, taking the death toll from the two typhoons to more than 920 people. Damage to crops and infrastructure was estimated at nearly 38 billion pesos ($796 million).