‘HARD-HEADED’: Some people did not evacuate to protect their property or because they were skeptical of the warnings, a disaster agency official said
AFP, MANILA
Typhoon Man-yi yesterday slammed into the Philippines’ most populous island, with the national weather service warning of flooding, landslides and huge waves as the storm sweeps across the archipelago nation.
Man-yi was still packing maximum sustained winds of 185kph after making its first landfall late on Saturday on lightly populated Catanduanes island.
More than 1.2 million people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi as the weather forecaster warned of a “life-threatening” effect from the powerful storm, which follows an unusual streak of violent weather.
People shelter at an evacuation site in preparation for Typhoon Man-yi in Manila yesterday.
Photo: Reuters
Man-yi uprooted trees, brought down power lines and smashed flimsy houses to pieces after hitting Catanduanes in the typhoon-prone Bicol region.
No deaths have been reported, but there was “extensive” damage to structures on Catanduanes, Office of Civil Defense Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said.
Man-yi remained a typhoon as it hit heavily populated Luzon — the country’s economic engine — forecasters said, warning of a “potentially dangerous” situation in Aurora province.
“Significant weakening” was expected as it traversed the mountainous island, but severe flooding and landslides were expected as Man-yi dumped “intense to torrential” rain over provinces in its path, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.
Forecasters also said storm surges of up to more than 3m could swamp vulnerable coastal communities, including in Manila.
Panganiban municipality in the northeast of Catanduanes took a direct hit from Man-yi.
Photographs and a drone video posted on Facebook by Catanduanes Mayor Cesar Robles showed fallen power lines, damaged and destroyed buildings, and trees and corrugated iron sheets strewn on the roads.
“Pepito was so strong, I have never experienced a typhoon this strong,” Robles wrote, using the local name for Man-yi, as clean-up efforts got under way and people returned home. “It is still a bit unsafe, there are still bursts of wind and there are many debris.”
Mother-of-three Marissa Cueva Alejandro, 36, who grew up in Catanduanes and sheltered with a relative during Man-yi, said typhoons were getting stronger.
“Before, we would only experience [typhoon] signal No. 3 to 4, but now typhoons are getting as strong as signal No. 5,” she said, referring to the weather service’s five-tiered wind warning system.
Man-yi is the sixth storm in the past month to batter the nation. At least 163 people died in the previous storms, that also left thousands homeless and wiped out crops and livestock.
About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Southeast Asian nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people, but it is rare for multiple such weather events to take place in a small window.
The weather forecaster has hoisted its highest and second-highest typhoon signals over a wide band of provinces stretching from Luzon’s east coast, where Man-yi made its second landfall, across to the western side of the island where it would exit.
About 2,000 people were in emergency evacuation shelters in Dipaculao municipality in Aurora province.
Others have stayed home to protect their property and livestock, or because they were skeptical of the warnings, said Geofry Parrocha, communications officer of the Dipaculao disaster agency.
“Some of our countrymen are really hard-headed. They do not believe us until the typhoon arrives,” Parrocha said.
