MANILA – Philippine officials ordered tens of thousands of people to evacuate to safer grounds and prohibited fishermen from venturing out to sea in an east-central region Monday as a typhoon approached from the Pacific. Authorities warned of torrential rains and potentially deadly storm surges of up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet).

Typhoon Kalmaegi was last spotted about 235 kilometers (146 miles) east of the town of Guiuan in Eastern Samar province, with sustained winds of up to 120 kilometers (74 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 150 kph (93 mph), and was forecast to slam into shore later Monday.

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It was expected to blow westward overnight and on Tuesday and batter central island provinces, including Cebu , which is still recovering from a 6.9-magnitude earthquake

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