Philippines authorities raced to evacuate up to 1 million people yesterday as Typhoon Mitag bore down on eastern areas devastated by storms last year.
Flatbed trucks, police-chartered vans and even rubbish trucks were pressed in to service as thousands of men, women and children were moved from vulnerable areas.
The Bicol peninsula bore the brunt of Super Typhoon Durian last year which killed 1,200 people and left 200,000 homeless.
Entire villages were obliterated and hundreds were swept to their deaths in mudslides triggered by Durian, which blew away houses and uprooted trees as it slammed into the Bicol provinces.
Philippines President Gloria Arroyo, who cut short an official visit to Singapore to deal with the latest typhoon, has told officials she did not want a repeat of last year's disaster and ordered pre-emptive evacuations.
She met yesterday with civil defense officials who briefed her about the movement of the typhoon and the status of the evacuation efforts.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer said up to 1 million people were being evacuated from Bicol including more than 600,000 people from Albay Province.
Civil defense officials said more than 50,000 people had already been evacuated in Bicol, which covers a long strip of land on the southern end of Luzon.
The civil defense office said preparations were taking place along the entire east coast of Luzon because the storm was changing direction, making it difficult to tell exactly where it would make landfall.
More than 2,000 people have already been evacuated in the eastern island of Catanduanes, which is expected to feel the force of the typhoon late today.
Chief forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said Mitag, packing maximum winds of 175kph and gusts of 210kph, would likely get stronger as it moves closer to the country. He warned that it could become a super typhoon.
Cruz said Mitag would either move west-southwest towards Bicol or toward central and northern Luzon, making landfall tomorrow morning.
"The rain path [of the typhoon] is so huge it affects three-fourths of the country so even if you are not hit by the typhoon, you are going to experience heavy rains," deputy civil defense chief Anthony Golez said.
TAIWAN
The Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday that Mitag could cause heavy rain for eastern and northern Taiwan next week.
Mitag was one of two typhoons that have become medium-strength typhoons east of the Philippines,senior forecaster Chang Yu-hsien (
Their close proximity has affected their paths, a situation known as the Fujiwhara Effect, he said.
"While we do not see indications that Hagibis will impact Taiwan yet, Mitag is traveling west northwest at 9 kilometers an hour so its outer ring current may affect Taiwan and bring heavy rain starting Sunday," Chang said. "Heavy rain may persist and increase in volume early next week."
Additional reporting by Meggie Lu
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from