Typhoon lashes at Philippines

Evacuations unsettle country’s pandemic response strategy

MANILA, Philippines — A strong typhoon slammed into the eastern Philippines on Thursday, 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 with fierce rain and wind as tens of thousands of people were being evacuated to safety in provinces along its northwestward 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 96 miles per hour 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 Gov. Ben Evardone said by telephone. “Psychologically, the people are already struggling with COVID and now we have this typhoon.”

Evardone said the entire province lost power, apparently due to downed electricity lines. Six northern towns could not be reached by cellphone or two-way radio, and the storm hit during the harvest season for rice and corn, he said.

Neighboring Northern Samar province also lost power, Gov. Edwin Ongchuan said by telephone.

Eastern Samar, a province of half a million people, remains free of confirmed coronavirus infections, unlike neighboring regions, Evardone said. All emergency shelters have been turned into quarantine facilities with medical equipment in case of outbreaks, but may have to be turned back into evacuation centers.

Manila was not expected to be hit directly by the storm but only lashed by strong winds.