Nearly a million people evacuated vulnerable areas of the Philippines as Super Typhoon Fung-Wong began lashing the main island of Luzon, with work and classes suspended across several regions, including Metro Manila.
Advertisement
Fung-Wong, locally known as Uwan, is forecast to make landfall in Aurora province as early as Sunday night, even as the Southeast Asian archipelago recovers from Typhoon Kalmaegi, which killed 224 people in the Philippines and five in Vietnam, where it devastated coastal communities.
With sustained winds of 185km/h (115mph) and gusts of up to 230km/h (140mph), Fung-Wong was already battering many parts of Luzon with massive rain bands, the authorities said.
The highest alert level, Signal No 5, was raised over southeastern and central areas, including Catanduanes, Camarines Sur and Aurora province, while Metro Manila and nearby provinces were under Signal No 3.
Catanduanes, a small island the state weather service said could take a “direct hit”, was being lashed by wind and rain early on Sunday, with storm surges sending waves hurtling over streets along the coast and floodwaters rising in some areas.
Advertisement
“The waves started roaring around 7am. When the waves hit the sea wall, it felt like the ground was shaking,” Edson Casarino, 33, a resident of Catanduanes’ Virac town, said.