It Could Be the Worst Oil Spill in Philippine History

An oil tanker has capsized in Manila Bay, triggering what the BBC reports could be "the worst oil spill in Philippine history" as Typhoon Gaemi ravages the region. A 2.5-mile oil spill stretches from the Philippine-flagged MT Terra Nova, which was carrying some 400,000 gallons of industrial fuel en route to the central city of Iloilo when it "capsized and eventually submerged" about 4 miles off the coast of Limay, according to the Philippines coast guard. Sixteen crew members were rescued, while the body of one crew member was recovered. A coast guard rep said authorities were "racing against time" to contain the spill and prevent it from reaching Manila's shores, per the Guardian. "If all the oil were to leak it would be the biggest spill in Philippines history," the outlet reports.

• Philippines: Before making landfall, Typhoon Gaemi brought torrential rain to the Philippines, where eight people have died, including six in landslides. There were chest-deep flood waters in Manila, home to 15 million people, which was placed under a state of calamity, per the BBC. More than half a million people have been displaced, per Bloomberg.
• Taiwan: Gaemi made landfall on Taiwan's east coast on Wednesday as a super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of 115mph or above, the Guardian reports. Three people in Taiwan have died, including a scooter rider crushed by a falling tree and a motorist struck by a tumbling wall. Hundreds more have been injured.

• Ship sinks: Rescue officials are searching for a Tanzania-flagged cargo ship believed to have sunk off Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The freighter, Fu Shun, had nine Myanmar nationals on board when a distress call went out around 6:30am local time Thursday, per the Guardian. Another three foreign vessels have run aground but their crews are safe.
• More chaos: More than 8,000 people in Taiwan have been relocated, including in the mountainous Hualien region, prone to landslides. Nearly all domestic flights and more than 200 international flights have been canceled. Trains and ferry services were suspended, while offices and schools were closed.
• Another landfall: The typhoon is expected to weaken as it passes through Taiwan. It will then re-emerge in the Taiwan Strait and is expected to make landfall in southeastern China on Thursday. A red storm alert was issued for China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. In nearby Okinawa, Japan, authorities urged residents to "exercise strong vigilance" against storms and floods.

(More typhoon stories.)