Typhoon Goni: The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year.
Manila, Philippines:
More than 200,000 people in the Philippines were ordered to evacuate their homes on Saturday as the strongest typhoon of the year to date hits the country, authorities warning of “destructive” winds and storm surges.
Typhoon Goni is expected to graze the southeastern tip of the main island of Luzon early Sunday before making landfall in the afternoon with wind speeds of up to 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour, said the state weather forecaster.
It comes a week after Typhoon Molave struck the same area, killing 22 people and inundating low-lying villages and farmland, before sweeping the South China Sea into Vietnam.
Schools that have been empty since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic will be used as emergency shelters as well as government-run evacuation centers and gymnasiums.
“It looks like we will have very strong winds, increasing the risk of flooding and widespread landslides,” Mark Timbal, spokesperson for the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, told the channel. ABS-CBN local television.
“Storm surges are imminent on our east coast. We are monitoring Mayon and Taal volcanoes for possible volcanic mud flows.”
On Saturday, authorities stepped up preparations in the Bicol area southeast of Manila, assembling rescue vehicles, emergency response teams and relief workers ahead of the typhoon.
The weather service has warned of a “moderate to high risk” of storm surges up to three meters (10 feet) high along the east coast over the next two days.
“High winds and heavy rains” are expected to cause flooding and landslides in an area of more than 20 million people, he said.
“Evacuation of people is more difficult at the moment because of the Covid-19,” regional civil defense spokesperson Alexis Naz told AFP.
More than 200,000 people have been invited to seek refuge in the Bicol region and evacuations are also planned in other regions.
A maximum of five people will be allowed to shelter in a single school hall that would have had 16 previously, Naz said, adding that the disaster-prone region has sufficient facilities.
Hundreds of people were left stranded after the coast guard ordered ferries and fishing boats in the harbor awaiting rough seas sending up to 15-meter waves.
The Philippines is struck by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, which typically destroy crops, homes and infrastructure, keeping millions of people in permanent poverty.
Its deadliest on record was Super Typhoon Haiyan, which unleashed giant waves in the central city of Tacloban and left more than 7,300 dead or missing in 2013.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
