Super Typhoon Mangkhut is the most powerful tropical cyclone in the world, with 170 mph winds, and is set to cross over the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Macau over the next few days.
The Global Disaster and Alert Coordination System said that as many as 43.3 million people could be affected by the storm, which is now causing power outages and flooding in Guam. Mangkhut is expected to sweep across the northern Philippines on Friday as the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane, but will likely weaken before reaching Hong Kong and Macau. The agriculture secretary of the Philippines warned that with the harvest season nearing, Mangkhut could cause up to $25 million in damage to crops on the island of Luzon.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Rain helps Los Angeles wildfires, risks mudslidesSpeed Read The weather provided relief for crews working to contain wildfires, though rain over a burn area ups the chances of flooding and mudslides
-
Death toll rises in LA fires as wind lull allows progressSpeed Read At least 24 people have died and 100,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders
-
Biden cancels Italy trip as raging LA fires spreadSpeed Read The majority of the fires remain 0% contained
-
Fast-spreading Los Angeles wildfires spark panicSpeed Read About 30,000 people were under an evacuation order as the inferno spread
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cycloneSpeed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinksSpeed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 endsSpeed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversibleSpeed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
