MANILA — Typhoon Hagupit made its first landfall late Saturday in the eastern Philippines, where more than 650,000 people have fled to safety. The strong storm comes barely one year after Super Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the island nation.
The country's weather agency says the typhoon, packing maximum sustained winds of 109 mph and gusts of 130 mph — equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane — hit in Dolores town in central Eastern Samar province.
The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center rated it as a major Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds at landfall.