Super Typhoon Hits Philippines, a Million Evacuate

Super Typhoon Fung-wong slammed ashore on Sunday in the northeastern coast of the Philippines, where the massive storm had already left at least two people dead and forced more than a million people to evacuate flood- and landslide-prone areas, officials said. The typhoon blew into Dinalungan town in Aurora province Sunday night after setting off fierce rain and wind in northeastern Philippine provinces all day from offshore, with sustained winds of up to 115 mph and gusts of 143 mph, the AP reports.

• Evacuations: More than a million people were evacuated from high-risk villages in northeastern provinces, including in Bicol, a coastal region vulnerable to Pacific cyclones and mudflows from Mayon, one of the country's most active volcanoes.
• The storm: The biggest typhoon to threaten the Philippines in years, Fung-wong could cover two-thirds of the archipelago with its 1,118-mile-wide rain and wind band, forecasters said. It approached from the Pacific while the Philippines was still dealing with the devastation wrought by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which left at least 224 people dead in central provinces on Tuesday before pummeling Vietnam, where at least five were killed. Tropical cyclones with sustained winds of 115 mph or higher are categorized in the Philippines as super typhoons, a designation adopted years ago to underscore the urgency tied to more extreme weather disturbances.
• Government response: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a state of emergency due to the extensive devastation caused by Kalmaegi and the expected calamity from Fung-wong, which is also called Uwan in the Philippines. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. warned about the potentially catastrophic impact of Fung-wong in televised remarks Saturday. He said the storm could affect a vast expanse of the country, including Cebu, the central province hit hardest by the previous typhoon, and metropolitan Manila, the densely populated capital region. More than 30 million people could be exposed to hazards posed by Fung-wong, the Office of Civil Defense said.

• Rescues: Despite calls for residents to evacuate Saturday, some stayed. "Our personnel rescued 14 people who were trapped on the roof of a house engulfed in flood in a low-lying neighborhood," Roberto Monterola, a disaster mitigation officer for Catanduanes, told the AP by phone. "A father also called in panic, saying the roof of his house was about to be ripped off by the wind. We saved him and four relatives." Monterola said the rain and wind were so intense that "there was nearly zero visibility."
• Closings: Authorities in northern provinces that could be hit or sideswiped by Fung-wong preemptively shut schools and most government offices on Monday and Tuesday. At least 325 domestic and 61 international flights have been canceled over the weekend and into Monday, and more than 6,600 commuters and cargo workers were stranded in seaports, where the coast guard prohibited ships from venturing into rough seas.
• Surge danger: Authorities warned of a "high risk of life-threatening and damaging storm surge" of nearly 10 feet along the coasts of more than 20 provinces and regions, including Manila.