The fifth major storm in three weeks approached the Philippines on Thursday, prompting more largescale evacuations and a United Nations request for emergency funds to help the government ease the plight of hard-hit villagers.

It is the first time on record that more than three tropical storms have occurred at the same time in November in the region.

Devastating floods struck the northern Philippines on Monday, when Tropical Storm Toraji became the fourth tropical storm to hit the island nation in three weeks.

Six tropical storms in about 5 weeks have threatented the Philippines, putting the country on successive alerts. Note: Forecast tracks as of Nov. 14, 00:00 GMT Sources: National Institute of Informatics,

In nearly 75 years of tracking the weather in the North Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, there have never been more than three tropical cyclones observed at once in November—until now. CNN reports the storms Yinxing,