A massive super typhoon is headed for the Philippines, on course for landfall in the areas that were ravaged by Super Typhoon Haiyan last year.  Forecasters say the new storm – Super Typhoon Hagupit, called Rosa in the Philippine naming system – will hit the island of Samar on Sunday.

That is immediately adjacent to Leyte Island and its biggest urban area Tacloban City, still recovering from last year’s disaster.  Although Hagupit/Rosa will lose a little power and isn’t quite as strong as last year’s Super Typhoon, it is still expected to be a Category 5 level storm when it hits the Visayas Islands by Saturday afternoon or evening. 

The Philippine Atmosphere, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) says Hagupit/Ruby is packing maximum sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 250 kph, and pushing waves of greater than 13 meters.  The UN Global Disaster Alert System says almost 32 million people are likely to be affected in some way by this storm – that’s about one-third of the Philippines’ population.