Typhoon Lupit strengthened Tuesday as it eyed the Philippines for a third onslaught after two other storms earlier killed more than 850 people, reported UPI. Lupit, with winds of up to 121 mph, was expected to hit part of the island country Thursday, the Philippine National Disaster Coordinating Council said, CNN reported. On Tuesday, the storm was located about 510 miles east of Cagayan in the northernmost island of Luzon. Authorities began rushing relief supplies to the region as Lupit, locally called Ramil, was expected to trigger storm surges and landslides as did its cousins Tropical Storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma. The total death toll from Ketsana, which devastated the Manila area Sept. 26, and Parma, which also visited Luzon, the largest of the country"s island, stood at 858, with 88 others still missing. Ketsana, which delivered the heaviest rainfall in 40 years, flooded 80 percent of the capital and drove nearly 500,000 from their homes with about 189,000 of them yet to be resettled, CNN said. Parma destroyed 55,000 homes. --SPA
