‘BE CAUTIOUS, FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS’
Wisma Putra advises people to defer travel to typhoon-hit areas in the Philippines
MALAYSIANS have been urged to defer non-essential travel to areas affected by Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines.
In a statement yesterday, Wisma Putra said Malaysians who are visiting or live in the affected areas were advised to be cautious and follow instructions from local authorities.
“The Foreign Affairs Ministry confirms that no Malaysians have been reported injured as a result of the typhoon,” it said in a statement.
“The ministry through the Malaysian Embassy in Manila together with the Consulate General Office in Davao, Mindanao, are monitoring the situation.
“The embassy is also in close contact with local authorities for the latest updates and advisories.”
Malaysians in the affected areas who require consular assistance should contact either the Malaysian Embassy in Manila or the Consulate General in Davao, Mindanao.
The Malaysian embassy’s address is 107, Tordesillas Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City, 1227 Philippines.
It can be reached at +63 2 662 8200, +63 917 864 0761 (after working hours) or mwmanila@kln.gov.my.
The Consulate General of Malaysia is located on the second winds tore trees from the ground and rain unleashed dozens of landslides.
In the northern town of Baggao, the storm collapsed houses, tore off roofs and downed power lines.
Some roads were cut off by landslides and many remained submerged.
Farms across Luzon, which produces a large portion of the nation’s rice and corn, were submerged under muddy floodwaters, their crops ruined just a month before harvest.
More than 105,000 people fled their homes in the largely rural region.
The dead included many killed in landslides, a girl who drowned and a security guard crushed by a falling wall.
In addition to the 25 killed in the Philippines, a woman was swept out to sea in Taiwan.
An average of 20 typhoons and storms lash the Philippines each year.
The country’s deadliest storm on record is Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,350 people dead or missing across the central Philippines in November 2013.
Typhoon Mangkhut has weakened since blasting into the Philippine coast on Saturday, but was packing sustained winds of 175km per hour as it hurtled towards China’s heavily populated southern coast.
Rain and strong winds lashed Hong Kong yesterday morning as the storm approached.
The city’s observatory warned that Typhoon Mangkhut would pass 100km south of Hong Kong at noon as it raised the storm alert to the highest level.