storm's threat to the territory on October 24. Beaches closed during the storms, and fishing boats were forced to remain at port. Several airports in Taiwan were closed. Two Russian ships were forced to ride out the storm in Xiamen. Impact Philippines When Babs moved over Catanduanes, the weather station at Virac recorded wind gusts of 260 km/h (160 mph). In Daet, Camarines Norte, near the typhoon's final Philippine landfall, sustained winds reached 129 km/h (80 mph), with gusts to 185 km/h (115 mph). Farther north in Luzon, Babs produced gusts of 192 km/h (120 mph) in Baler, Aurora. The typhoon also dropped torrential rainfall that caused flooding and landslides. On Mount Pinatubo, the rains resulted in a high landslide consisting of volcanic material, although nearby rivers at flood stage contained it. Workers at the Ambuklao and Binga dams had to release waters after the storm, which flooded rice fields and fish ponds along the Agno River. Elsewhere, heightened rivers in Camarines Sur flooded 24 towns. Five towns in Rizal province were flooded along a lake, including about 70% of the city of Angono. Flooding also affected portions of Manila. Just like Typhoon Zeb days earlier, Babs was very destructive to the Philippines, mostly throughout Luzon and into the Visayas. On Catanduanes where it first struck, several hours of torrential rainfall in the hills caused the Bato River to rise 9 m (30 ft), which reached as high as the houses' roofs in some areas. Most houses lost their roofs and many had damage to walls, with furniture and other property drenched. About 80% of the buildings in the city of Virac were destroyed, and winds were strong enough to knock air conditioners out of windows. There was an island-wide power outage after high seas washed away a power generating barge. On Masbate, a landslide collapsed the entrance of a gold mining cave, with 14 of the 25 member crew rescued. High waves destroyed 125 homes in Catbalogan on Samar Island, while three fishermen required rescue. Along its path through the Philippines, the high winds caused widespread power outages for several days. Many roads and highways were flooded for days or blocked by landslides, and several bridges were wrecked. In the Bicol Region of southern Luzon, the storm knocked over many coconut trees, and flooding damaged about of rice fields in Nueva Ecija. Nationwide, the storm destroyed 222,882 tonnes of