Nearly a million people were forced to leave their homes when Super Typhoon Fung-wong hit the northern coast of the Philippines on Sunday, causing power outages. TASR informs about it according to the reports of the Reuters and AP agencies.
Fung-wong, packing winds of 185 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 230 kilometers per hour, has already lashed many parts of the main Philippine island of Luzon with massive rains, the state weather service said.
Maximum level of alertness
The highest alert level five was declared for the southeastern and central regions, including the provinces of Catanduanes, Camarines Sur and Aurora, while the third level was declared for the Metro Manila area and surrounding provinces.
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro urged residents in areas threatened by the storm to obey evacuation orders. He warned that refusing such an order was dangerous and illegal.
Aurora province intervention
“We are asking people to evacuate as a precaution – so that we do not have to carry out last-minute rescue operations that could endanger the lives of police officers, soldiers, firefighters and coast guardsmen,” he emphasized in his public speech.
Fung-wong is forecast to hit Aurora province as early as Sunday evening. Meanwhile, the country is still recovering from typhoon Kalmaegi, which claimed 224 lives in the Philippines and five in Vietnam.
Consequences of the last typhoon
Kalmaegi swept through the central Philippines on Tuesday with gusty winds of 165 kilometers per hour. However, the biggest threat was the heavy rains, which caused extensive and destructive floods.
The typhoon affected nearly two million people and displaced more than 560,000 residents. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of emergency on Thursday.
Impacts of climate change
Scientists warn that storms are getting stronger as a result of human-caused climate change. Warmer oceans allow typhoons to strengthen quickly, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, leading to more intense rainfall.
