THOUSANDS of individuals sought refuge, and ports were closed in the Philippines on Monday (November 11), officials said, as the disaster-prone country was hit by another typhoon, the fourth in less than a month.
The National Weather Bureau reported that Typhoon Toraji made landfall near Dilasag town, around 220 kilometers northeast of Manila.
“We’re getting hit with strong winds and heavy rain; some trees are toppled, and power has been out since yesterday,” Merwina Pableo, civil defense head of Dinalungan, near Dilasag, told AFP.
Rescuers said that over 7,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas as well as flood-prone and landslide-prone areas in Aurora and Isabela, the first two provinces hit before Toraji slammed inland to the mountainous interior of the main island of Luzon.
On Sunday, the government ordered the evacuation of 2,500 settlements, however, the National Disaster Office did not have the complete number of evacuees by Monday.
Glenn Balanag, a 31-year-old schoolteacher in the Dilasag landfall region, captured footage of the roaring 130km/h gusts that brutally rocked the coconut palms around his remote home.
“Big trees are falling and we heard the roofs of some houses were damaged. The rain is continuing and a river nearby is rising,” he informed AFP.
The national weather agency warned of severe winds and “intense to torrential” rainfall surpassing 200mm in the country’s north, as well as a “moderate to high risk of storm surge” – enormous waves up to 3m high on the north coast.
Schools and government facilities were closed in areas likely to be most affected by the current typhoon.
According to a Coast Guard tally on Monday, about 700 people were stuck at ports on or near the typhoon’s path, with the meteorological service warning that “sea travel is risky for all types or tonnage of vessels”.
“All mariners must remain in port or, if underway, seek shelter or safe harbor as soon as possible until winds and waves subside,” noted the statement.
POWERFUL GUTS
According to Aurora and Isabela officials, the most significant impact appeared to be toppled trees and electrical pylons that blocked important roadways.
“I don’t want to send people out to investigate just yet; I don’t want them to be caught off guard by strong winds,” said Constante Foronda, Isabela’s disaster response head.
The typhoon was expected to dissipate over the South China Sea late Monday, according to the weather agency.
Aurora regional disaster response chief Elson Egargue told AFP that he dispatched personnel to clean roads after Toraji left the area in the early afternoon.
Following Toraji, weather forecaster Veronica Torres told AFP that a tropical depression might hit the region as early as Thursday night.
Tropical Storm Man-yi, which is presently east of Guam, may also affect the Philippines next week, she said.
Toraji followed three cyclones in less than a month, all of which killed 159 people.
Typhoon Yinxing made landfall on the country’s north coast on Thursday, causing property damage.
A 12-year-old girl was crushed to death in a single occurrence.
Prior to it, Severe Tropical Storm Trami and Super Typhoon Kong-rey killed 158 people, according to the national disaster agency, with Trami accounting for the majority of the death toll.
Every year, about 20 major storms and typhoons make landfall in the archipelago nation or nearby waters.
According to the latest research, climate change is causing storms in the Asia-Pacific area to form closer to coastlines, strengthen more quickly, and linger longer over land.