Typhoon Koppu in the Philippines

Sunday 18th October 2015

The lowdown: On Sunday morning a huge typhoon, called Typhoon Koppu, hit near the island of Luzon, in the Philippines. The typhoon brought winds of about 200km/h. The typhoon is up to 650km across and is very slow moving, say the BBC.More than 15,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, with more expected in the next few days. A teenage boy was killed, and four others injured when a tree fell on top of houses in Manila. People in the worst hit areas have to be able to sustain themselves with enough food and water for up to 72 hours. Flights, bus and ferry services in the north have been cancelled for fear of landslides. Aid agencies have already distributed emergency supplies to evacuation centres while the Philippine military in Northern Luzo has been placed on alert for disaster operations. Typhoon Koppu is not due to leave the Philippines until Tuesday, when it will start heading towards Taiwan.

What is a typhoon?

A typhoon is a type of large storm with a spiral system of violent winds. A typhoon/hurricane/cyclone generally has winds stronger than about 120 kph. It is typically hundreds of kilometres or miles in diameter. 

Whats the difference between a cyclone and a typhoon?

There is no difference between a hurricane, a cyclone and a typhoon. They are all different names for the same kind of intense low pressure storm system.

In  the Western Pacific, near Asia, they call tropical cyclones "typhoons." In most of the southern hemisphere and the Indian Ocean, they simply call tropical cyclones a "tropical cyclone."