Manila - Several domestic flights were cancelled Wednesday as a storm approached the central and eastern Philippines, aviation officials said. More than 3,000 passengers were stranded in different ports in the storm-battered areas as the coast guard prevented passenger ferries from sailing.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said they have not yet received a report of casualties from storm Higos, which is expected to pass near the Philippine capital on Thursday.
The weather bureau said that Higos has weakened into a tropical depression as it traversed the eastern province of Camarines Norte in the Bicol region.
Higos, with maximum sustained winds of 55 kilometres per hour, was moving north-west at 17 kilometres per hour towards the city of Dagupan.
The NDCC, however, warned that flashfloods may occur along the path of Higos since the bad weather was inducing heavy monsoon rains. The agency warned residents in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes to take precautions against flashfloods and landslides.
Last week, a powerful typhoon pummelled a large area in the northern Philippines, killing at least eight people and damaging infrastructure.
