The island nation has been hit hard by Super Typhoon Fung-wong, which left at least two people dead and displaced over a million residents.
Authorities reported that the massive storm triggered widespread sudden floods, coastal inundation, mudslides, and destructive high-velocity gusts, leading to the evacuation of 1.4 million people across the country.
Extensive Damage and Emergency Operations
In the town of Pandan, a severely affected area, emergency crews documented floodwaters climbing to rooftop levels and homes being swept away by the powerful currents.
“Our personnel saved fourteen people stranded atop a house engulfed in flood in a low-lying neighbourhood,” an emergency official stated. “A father frantically contacted us, reporting the roof of his house was about to be ripped off by the wind. We rescued him along with four family members.”
As of Monday morning, authorities announced at least two deaths: a drowning victim on the island and a second individual who died after her home gave way on Samar island.
Typhoon Strength and Projected Path
The super typhoon was downgraded to a severe tropical storm on Monday morning as it crossed the Philippines’ largest island, home to the national capital.
Per meteorological authorities, the storm’s sustained wind speed dropped from 185 km/h to 165 km/h, though wind bursts were still reaching over 170 mph.
The storm system is expected to lose strength while heading in the direction of Taiwan.
Relief and Assessment
The national disaster response service indicated it was still working to assess damage to infrastructure and homes.
Approximately 6,000 evacuation centres were activated to temporarily house 92,000 families.
Previous Storms and Environmental Factors
The typhoon hit just days after Typhoon Kalmaegi, that claimed at least 224 people with another 135 missing before moving on to Vietnam, causing five deaths there.
Search operations for the missing persons were halted recently due to safety concerns to emergency personnel.
Global warming is making tropical storms stronger and frequent. Fung-wong is the twenty-first storm to hit the Philippines this year.
Scientists have found that the rate of super-typhoons hitting the Philippines has increased doubled in the past twenty years.
Global assessments suggest that intense storms cause approximately US$3.5 million in losses for the Philippines annually.
The nation’s leader issued an emergency declaration last week because of the extensive devastation caused by the prior typhoon and the expected damage from the new storm.
