Super Typhoon Man-yi, which intensifies and could have an impact “potentially catastrophic” In the Philippines, it made landfall in the archipelago on Saturday, November 16, causing waves up to 14 meters high, according to meteorological services.
More than 650,000 people have fled their homes in the period leading up to this “super typhoon” whose winds reached 195 km/h in the municipality of Catanduanes, in the Bicol region, at 9:40 p.m. (2:40 p.m., Paris time), the national meteorological agency reported. Millions of people are threatened by this sixth major storm to hit the Philippines in a month. Previous attacks have killed at least 163 people, left thousands homeless, destroyed crops and killed livestock.
“A potentially catastrophic and deadly situation looms in the northeastern region of Bicol as Super Typhoon Pepito intensifies further”the weather agency said before landfall, using the local name of the storm and referring to the southern part of the main island of Luzon.
On Saturday, the government called on the population to heed the warnings and take shelter. “If a preventive evacuation is necessary, let’s implement it and not wait for the hour of danger to evacuate or seek help, because (…) “We would be putting not only our lives in danger, but also those of our rescuers.”said.
About twenty major storms and typhoons a year
In the island province of Catanduanes in the typhoon-plagued Bicol region, evacuation centers are filling up and the weather agency is warning of serious flooding and landslides.
More than 400 people crowded into the provincial government building in the capital, Virac, and the new arrivals were sent to a gym, Roberto Monterola, the provincial disaster official, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Monterola announced that he had deployed soldiers to force about a hundred households in two coastal towns near Virac to head inland, fearing that the storm would submerge their homes.
“Regardless of the exact point of arrival, heavy precipitation, strong winds and storm surge may occur in areas outside the expected arrival area”the weather agency said.
The mayor of Naga City in Camarines Sur province imposed a curfew starting at noon on Saturday to force residents to stay home.
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In Northern Samar province, disaster manager Rei Josiah Echano says damage from the typhoon is causing poverty in the region. “Every time we have a typhoon like this, we go back to medieval times,” Echano told AFP.
All vessels, from fishing boats to oil tankers, have been ordered to remain in port or return to dock. Nearly four thousand people were stranded after the coast guard closed fifty-five ports.
Every year, around 20 major storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters, killing dozens of people, but it is rare for several such weather events to occur in a short period of time. Scientists say climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, causing heavier rain, flash flooding and more violent gusts.
