Typhoon Yinxing Approaches the Philippines as a Category 4 Storm

More than 160,000 people have been evacuated to prepare for the tropical cyclone. It is forecast to make landfall by Friday morning.

Typhoon Yinxing was hurling itself toward the northern tip of the Philippines on Thursday with winds equivalent to those of a Category 4 hurricane, the latest in a string of powerful storms to affect the country.

The storm had maximum sustained winds of about 138 miles per hour on Thursday, the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said in an advisory. It was about 71 miles east of the northern Philippines on Thursday morning as it moved west northwest, according to the country’s national meteorological service.

More than 160,000 people had been evacuated by Thursday morning, according to the Office of Civil Defense. Some schools and workplaces were closed.

Typhoon Yinxing was forecast to make landfall and cross a region that includes the Babuyan Islands and the northern tip of Luzon, the country’s most populous island, by Friday morning. The authorities warned that it could bring storm surges of up to about 10 feet.

On Wednesday, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said in a statement that he was placing the country on “high alert” and that he had ordered the public works and transportation departments to be ready for road-clearing operations. The government issued flash flood and landslide warnings, and urged residents to evacuate or take shelter.

The Philippines is prone to storms and sees an average of 20 a year. In September, Typhoon Krathon hit the country’s northern regions and caused flash flooding. Last month, Tropical Storm Trami killed 80 people and forced half a million residents to evacuate.

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