The Philippines: Manila airport to close, as tens of thousands flee homes ahead of storm

Typhoon Kammuri barrelled towards the Philippines yesterday, leaving one person dead while pushing tens of thousands of others into evacuation centres and prompting the temporary closure of Manila's international airport. Kammuri was expected to make landfall in the nation's east late yesterday or early today. It will then be expected to pass to the south of the capital, which is home to some 13 million people and is hosting thousands of athletes for the regional SEA Games. Airport officials said they made the call to suspend operations based on the potency of the storm, which was forecast to come ashore with intense rain and sustained winds of up to 165kmh as well as gusts of up to 230kmh, forecasters said. "Based on our estimate, it will be closed from 11am to 11pm tomorrow, Dec 3," said Ed Monreal, GM of Manila's airport authority.<br/>