Philippines counts cost of storm damage as Typhoon Fung-wong tracks to Taiwan

A weakening Typhoon Fung-wong departed the Philippines over the South China Sea on Monday morning, after its driving winds and heavy rain killed at least two people and forced more than a million to evacuate.

Fung-wong, with a footprint that spanned nearly the entirety of the archipelago, slammed into the country’s eastern seaboard on Sunday evening as a “super typhoon” after uprooting trees and swamping towns further south.

It landed just days after Typhoon Kalmaegi swept through the islands of the central Philippines, claiming at least 224 lives.

Schools and government offices across swathes of main island Luzon, including Manila, were closed on Monday, though predicted heavy rains had yet to materalise.

In Aurora province, where Fung-wong made landfall the night before, rescuer Geofry Parrocha said officials were only now able to assess the damage.