Super Typhoon Man-yi ravaged the Philippines on Saturday, with the national weather forecaster warning of a “potentially catastrophic and life-threatening” impact as huge waves battered the archipelago’s coastline.
More than 650,000 people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi, the sixth major typhoon to hit the disaster-stricken country in the past month.
Man-Yi brought maximum wind speeds of 195 kilometers (121 miles) per hour as it made landfall on the sparsely populated island province of Catanduanes as a supertyphoon, the weather service said, with gusts reaching 325 kilometers per hour. The hours were approaching.
“A potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation looms for the northeastern Bicol region as Super Typhoon ‘Pepito’ further intensifies,” the forecaster said, using the storm’s local name and referring to the southern part of the main island. ” Luzon.
Forecasters said waves up to 14 meters (46 feet) high pounded the coast of Catanduanes, while Manila and other sensitive coastal areas were at risk of storm surge reaching more than three meters in the next 48 hours.
Catanduanes and northeastern Camarines Sur provinces – both in the typhoon-prone Bicol region – posed “extreme danger to life and property,” weather forecasters said.
Power was shut off in Catanduanes prior to the storm, with generators being used to power shelters and command centers.
“Here at the evacuation center we are hearing sounds of things falling and breaking,” Catanduanes provincial disaster operations chief Roberto Monterola told AFP after the Man-yi landslide.
“We are unable to check what they are because the winds are so strong. They could be breaking tree branches and falling onto roofs,” Monterolla said. He said there was no report of any casualty.
Five typhoons that have struck the Philippines in recent weeks have killed at least 163 people, left thousands homeless and destroyed crops and livestock.
Climate change is causing the intensity of storms to increase, causing heavy rain, flash floods and strong winds.
About 20 major storms and typhoons hit the Southeast Asian country or its surrounding waters each year, causing many deaths, but it is rare for so many weather events to occur in a short window.
abandonment
Man-Yi could hit Luzon, the country’s most populous island and economic engine, as a super typhoon or typhoon on Sunday afternoon, passing north of Manila and reaching the South China Sea on Monday.
The government on Saturday urged people to heed warnings to flee to safety.
The Under Secretary of the Interior said, “If there is a need for pre-emptive evacuation, we must do so and not wait for the moment of danger before evacuating or asking for help, because if we did so we would risk not only our lives but “Will also put the lives of our rescuers in danger.” Marlo Eringan said.
In Albay province, grocer Myrna Perea of Legazpi City, along with her husband and her three children, sheltered in a school classroom with nine other families after they were ordered to leave their hut.
Conditions were hot and cramped – the family spent Friday night sleeping together on a mat under the classroom’s single ceiling fan – but Perea said it was better to be safe.
“I think our house will be ruined when we come back because it is made of light materials – it just takes two gusts to bring it down,” Periya, 44, told AFP.
“Even if the house is destroyed, the important thing is that we do not lose any family members.”
back to square one’
In Northern Samar province, disaster official Ri Josiah Ichano lamented that typhoon damage is the root cause of poverty in the region.
“Whenever a storm like this comes, it takes us back to the medieval era, we go (back) to square one,” Ichano told AFP.
The mayor of Naga city in Camarines Sur province imposed a curfew starting Saturday afternoon to force residents to stay indoors.
All vessels, from fishing boats to oil tankers, were ordered to remain in port or return to shore.
The Volcanology Agency also warned that heavy rains brought by Man-Yi could trigger the flow of volcanic sediments or lahar from three volcanoes, including Taal, south of Manila.
Man-Yi made landfall at the end of typhoon season in the Philippines – most cyclones develop between July and October.
Earlier this month, four typhoons struck the Pacific basin simultaneously, which the Japan Meteorological Agency told AFP on Saturday marked the first time such a phenomenon had been seen in November since records began in 1951.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
