Nearly One Million Evacuated as Super-Typhoon Fung-wong โฃThreatens Philippines
manila, philippines – Authorities have evacuated nearly aโค million peopleโ across the Philippines โคas Super-Typhoon Fung-wong โbarrels towardsโค the archipelago, expected to make landfall overnight thisโฃ Sunday. โคThe approaching โขstorm,boasting winds โคof up to 230 km/h and a diameter spanning virtuallyโ the entire country,comes just a week after the devastating passage of Typhoon Kalmaegi.
As of early Sunday afternoon, 916,863 people hadโ been moved toโฃ safety, according to Rafaelito Alejandro,โ a senior Civil Defense official. Schools and public buildings will be closed Monday across a large portion of the nation,โค including manila, and approximately 300 flights have been canceled in anticipation of theโ storm’s impact.
The โisland of Catanduanes is bracing for โคthe brunt โคof Fung-wong, with the eye of the โcyclone predicted to pass closest โto the area. “The waves started โคto rumble around 7 a.m. When they hit the breakwater, it truly seems like the ground is shaking,” โขtestified Edson Casarino, a 33-year-old resident of Catanduanes. Residents spent Saturday attempting to โคsecureโค their homes against the anticipated powerful gusts.
Governmentโค meteorologist โbenison estarejaโ warned of โขwidespreadโ flooding,anticipating “rainfall of 200 millimeters or more,” potentially overflowing major watersheds. Floodingโ already disrupted trafficโฃ on the island of Mindanao on Saturday, and some sought shelter in churches in Sorsogon province.
The Philippines is routinely struck โby around 20 storms orโข typhoons annually, disproportionately impacting the country’s poorest regions. This latest threat โคarrives following Typhoon Kalmaegi, which recently claimed over 224โ lives – making it the deadliest typhoon of the year,โ according to the โEM-DAT database. Relief efforts in Cebu province,which bore โthe brunt of Kalmaegi’s devastation,have been temporarily suspended due to the impending arrival of Fung-wong.
Scientistsโค attribute the increasing frequency โand intensity โคof extreme weather โขevents to human-caused global warming.