Typhoon Fung-wong yesterday blew out of the northwestern Philippines after setting off floods and landslides, knocking out power to entire provinces, killing at least four people and displacing more than 1.4 million.
It was forecast to head northwest toward Taiwan.
Fung-wong lashed the northern Philippines while the country was still dealing with the devastation wrought by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which left at least 224 people dead in central provinces on Tuesday last week before pummeling Vietnam, where at least five were killed.
Photo: AFP
Fung-wong slammed ashore in northeastern Aurora province on Sunday night as a super typhoon with sustained winds of up to 185kph and gusts of up to 230kph .
The 1,800km-wide storm weakened as it raked through mountainous northern provinces and agricultural plains overnight before blowing away from the province of La Union into the South China Sea, state forecasters said.
One person drowned in flash floods in the eastern province of Catanduanes, and another died in Catbalogan city in eastern Samar province when her house collapsed on her, officials said.
In the northern province of Nueva Vizcaya, three children died in two separate landslides in the towns of Kayapa and Kasibu, and four others were injured, police said. An elderly person was killed in a mudslide in Barlig, a town in northern Mountain Province, officials said.
More than 1.4 million people moved into emergency shelters or the homes of relatives before the typhoon made landfall, and about 318,000 remained in evacuation centers yesterday.
Fierce wind and rain flooded at least 132 northern villages, including one where some residents were trapped on their roofs as floodwaters rapidly rose.
About 1,000 houses were damaged, Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV of the Office of Civil Defense and other officials said, adding that roads blocked by landslides would be cleared as the weather improved yesterday.
“While the typhoon has passed, its rains still pose a danger in certain areas” in northern Luzon, including in Metropolitan Manila,” Alejandro said. “We’ll undertake today rescue, relief and disaster-response operations.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday declared a state of emergency due to the extensive devastation caused by Kalmaegi and the expected damage from Fung-wong.
Tropical cyclones with sustained winds of 185kph or higher are categorized in the Philippines as a super typhoon to underscore the urgency tied to more extreme weather disturbances.
The Philippines has not called for international help following the devastation caused by Kalmaegi, but Teodoro said the US, the country’s longtime treaty ally, and Japan were ready to provide assistance.
Authorities announced that schools and most government offices would be closed until today.
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