The island nation has been hit hard by Intense Cyclone Fung-wong, which left a minimum of two fatalities and forced the evacuation of over a million residents.
Authorities reported that the massive storm triggered extensive sudden floods, coastal inundation, landslides, and fierce high-velocity gusts, leading to the evacuation of 1.4 million people nationwide.
Widespread Damage and Rescue Efforts
In the town of Pandan, a severely affected area, disaster response teams documented rising waters climbing to the tops of houses and residences being swept away by the powerful currents.
Our team rescued fourteen people stranded atop a house engulfed in flood in a low-lying neighbourhood,” an emergency official explained. “A father frantically contacted us, saying his home’s roof was at risk of tearing away by the wind. We rescued him along with four family members.”
By Monday, officials announced two fatalities: one from drowning on the island and another killed when her house collapsed in eastern Samar.
Typhoon Strength and Projected Path
The intense storm weakened to a typhoon on Monday morning as it crossed the main island, where the capital is located.
Per meteorological authorities, its maximum winds decreased from 185 km/h to 165 km/h, but gusts were still reaching more than 275 km/h.
The storm system is projected to continue weakening as it moves north toward Taiwan.
Response and Recovery
The national disaster response service indicated it was still working to assess damage on buildings and roads.
Roughly thousands of shelters were activated to accommodate tens of thousands of households.
Previous Storms and Climate Impact
Fung-wong struck shortly following Typhoon Kalmaegi, which killed hundreds of lives and left another 135 missing prior to advancing toward Vietnam, where it killed five.
Search operations for the missing persons were halted recently over risks to emergency personnel.
The climate crisis is making tropical storms more intense and frequent. Fung-wong is the twenty-first storm to impact the nation this year.
Scientists have found that the frequency of super-typhoons hitting the Philippines has increased doubled in the past twenty years.
Global assessments indicate that severe weather events result in approximately US$3.5 million in damage to the country every year.
The nation’s leader issued a state of emergency on Thursday due to the severe damage from Kalmaegi and anticipated impacts from Fung-wong.
