Typhoon touches down in Philippines as thousands evacuated
A strong typhoon has slammed into the eastern Philippines, knocking out power and threatening food crops in a new emergency for a country already overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Typhoon Vongfong blew into Eastern Samar province at noon yesterday (5am GMT) with fierce rain and wind as tens of thousands of people were being evacuated to safety in provinces along its north-westward path through the country’s most populous region.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage.
After landfall, the storm maintained its maximum sustained winds of about 96mph, but its gusts intensified to 158 mph, weather agency administrator Vicente Malano said.
The typhoon hit as the Philippines struggles to deal with coronavirus outbreaks, largely with a lockdown in the main northern region of Luzon that is to be eased this weekend, except in metropolitan Manila and two other high-risk areas. The rest of the country will be placed in less restrictive quarantines and crucial businesses will partially reopen starting next week after the economy contracted in the first quarter.
More than 11,600 coronavirus infections, including 772 deaths, have been reported in the country.
“This is a double whammy,” Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone said by telephone. “Psychologically, the people are already struggling with Covid and now we have this typhoon.”
Forecasters predicted that it could dump torrential rains by tomorrow across a wide area of the Philippines, including possibly Luzon, the country’s largest island, which has a population of 60 million and includes the capital Manila.
Harry Roque, a spokesman for president Rodrigo Duterte, said: “Definitely this is going to add to our emergency situation. While the areas expected to be hit by the typhoon are not heavily ravaged by Covid-19, we have set some guidelines.”
He said any families taken to evacuation areas would have to observe strict social distancing guidelines. But judging from evacuations during previous typhoons, he conceded that “enforcing that would be a challenge”.
Overcrowding in emergency shelters is a common scene in the archipelago hit by about 20 typhoons and storms annually and regularly experiencing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. Many officials faced a difficult dilemma on how to shield villagers from the double threats.
Video showed fierce rain and wind swaying coconut trees, rattling tin roofs and obscuring visibility. Jipapad is a town in the typhoon’s path that is prone to landslides and flooding. The only evacuation centres for its 8,000 villagers are a gymnasium and the town hall.