The Philippines has evacuated more than 100,000 residents across its eastern and northern regions as Fung-wong intensified into a super typhoon on Sunday morning ahead of its expected landfall later in the day.
Fung-wong is threatening to unleash torrential rains, destructive winds and storm surges across the archipelagic country, already reeling from another typhoon earlier in the week that left hundreds dead.
Storm alert signals have been hoisted across large parts of the Philippines, with Signal No. 5 — the highest warning — raised over south-eastern Luzon, including Catanduanes and coastal areas of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, while Metro Manila and surrounding areas are under Signal No. 3.
The remains of a community where houses were swept away in the floods brought on by typhoon Kalmaegi, in Cebu, Philippines. (Reuters: Eloisa Lopez)
Packing sustained winds of 185 kph and gusts of up to 230 kph, super typhoon Fung-wong, locally known as Uwan, is forecast to make landfall in Aurora province in central Luzon on Sunday night, local time, at the earliest.
Parts of Eastern Visayas were already experiencing power outages.
Some images shared by the Philippine Coast Guard in Camarines Sur showed evacuees carrying bags and personal belongings as they transferred from long, narrow passenger boats to waiting trucks during pre-emptive evacuation operations.
More than 300 flights cancelled
The Philippines’ civil aviation regulator said more than 300 domestic and international flights had been cancelled on Sunday.
A video shared by ABS-CBN News on X showed stormy conditions in Catanduanes province, with an overcast sky, tree branches swaying violently in the wind, and strong rain visibly falling and pounding the area, its intensity audible.
Fung-wong approached the Philippines just days after the country was battered by typhoon Kalmaegi, which killed 204 people and left a trail of destruction before slamming into Vietnam, where it claimed five more lives and devastated coastal communities.
In the fishing village of Vung Cheo, in central Vietnam, fishing vessels were seen piled up in wrecks along the main road on Saturday, where hundreds of lobster farms had been washed away or damaged.
Reuters
