Philippines braces for super Typhoon Haiyan

Philippine officials on Wednesday raised the alert for a powerful typhoon threatening the country's eastern coast and urged residents to leave high-risk areas before the storm hits, dpa reported. Typhoon Haiyan was barrelling towards eastern and central provinces with maximum winds of 240 kilometres per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 295 kph. It was expected to intensify as it neared land, weather forecasters warned. Haiyan, which will be called locally as Yolanda, was expected to make landfall over the eastern provinces of Samar and Leyte on Friday. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas urged residents to be prepared for evacuation, especially those living along coastlines and other high-risk areas.