6 Dec 2014

Fears for Philippines as typhoon approaches

8:35 pm on 6 December 2014

Save the Children New Zealand says it fears for people in the central Philippines as the second super-typhoon in just over a year approaches the country.

Typhoon Hagupit

Fishermen dock their boats in preparation for Typhoon Hagupit. Photo: AFP

Typhoon Hagupit was expected to slam into the central Philippines tomorrow morning bringing massive storm surges.

Torrential rain was already starting to fall in the east of the country, the BBC reported.

It could hit areas still recovering from super-typhoon Haiyan which hit a year ago, leaving more than 7000 people dead or missing.

Save the Children's New Zealand chief executive Heather Hayden they had emergency supplies ready for distribution, including emergency shelter kits.

She said half a million people were still living in temporary shelters.

"There are still numbers of people who were affected by the typhoon last year who are in evacuation centres or still living in tents.

"So although there was a huge effort after Haiyan, there are lots of people who are very vulnerable still."

An aid worker with the group Plan International in Tacloban Richard Sandison said people were nervous but more prepared than last time.

"This time around thousands of people have been moved to evacuation centres."

He was worried that those areas that were destroyed in Typhoon Haiyan would be hit again.

Typhoon Hagupit

A satellite image of Typhoon Hagupit in the Western Pacific Ocean. Photo: AFP / 2014 EUMETSAT

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