Super Typhoon Fung-wong Slams philippines,Triggering Mass Evacuations
The Philippines is bracing for the full force of Super Typhoon fung-wong after it made landfall Saturday,prompting the evacuation of over a million people from high-risk areas. Authorities have launched rescue operations as the storm brings torrential rain and destructive winds, threatening widespread flooding, landslides, and coastal surges.
Rescue teams have already been deployed to assist those in immediate danger. “Our personnel rescued 14 people who were trapped on the roof of a house engulfed in flood in a low-lying neighbourhood,” reported Mr. Monterola, a rescue official. Another family was saved after a father contacted authorities fearing his home’s roof would be ripped off by the wind. “We saved him and four relatives.”
Evacuations are focused on north-eastern provinces, including Bicol, a region especially vulnerable to cyclones and mudflows from the active Mayon volcano. Defence secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. warned of the possibly ”catastrophic impact” of Fung-wong in televised remarks, emphasizing the storm’s potential to affect a vast area, including Cebu province - previously devastated by a strong typhoon – and the densely populated metropolitan Manila.
The Office of Civil Defence estimates more than 30 million people are potentially exposed to hazards from the typhoon. Authorities are urging residents to heed evacuation orders and seek shelter away from flood-prone and landslide-risk areas. “We need to do this because when it’s already raining or the typhoon has hit and flooding has started, it’s hard to rescue people,” Teodoro said.
The Philippines is frequently battered by typhoons, wiht the archipelago nation situated along a major Pacific storm track.