Philippines evacuates hundreds of thousands as super typhoon nears

Nearly a million people were evacuated and floodwaters were rising in the Philippines on Sunday ahead of Typhoon Fung-wong’s expected arrival on the east coast late at night.

The super typhoon, which comes just days after another storm ravaged the country, was heading west with winds of 185 kilometers per hour near the center and gusts of up to 230 km/h as of 11 a.m. (0300 GMT), the state weather service said.

With a radius covering almost the entire Philippines, Fung-wong is expected to bring winds and heavy rain to large swaths of the archipelago, which last week saw more than 220 people killed by Typhoon Kalmaegi.

Schools and government offices were closed on Monday on the main island of Luzon, including in the capital Manila, where nearly 300 flights have so far been canceled.

Catanduanes, a small island that the state weather service said could be “directly impacted,” was hit by wind and rain early Sunday, with storm surge sending waves crashing over streets along the coast and floodwaters rising in some areas.

“As we speak, they are feeling the impact of the typhoon, especially in Catanduanes, because that is where the eye of the storm is closest,” Deputy Civil Defense Administrator Rafaelito Alejandro said at a press briefing, adding that 916,863 people had been evacuated nationwide.

“The waves started roaring around 7 a.m. When the waves hit the seawall, it was like the ground was shaking,” Edson Casarino, 33, a resident of the town of Virac, Catanduanes, told AFP.

“Heavy rain is falling now and I can hear the wind whistling.”

Video verified by AFP showed a church in the town surrounded by floodwaters that reached halfway to its entrance.

Flooding was also reported in the Bicol region of southern Luzon, Alejandro said, adding that authorities expected water “to rise in the Bicol River basin.”

In Guinobatan, a town of about 80,000 people in Albay province, verified video shows streets becoming a raging torrent of floodwaters.

Typhoon Fung-wong is expected to bring about 200 millimeters of rain or more to many places, according to government meteorologists.

Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful due to human-caused climate change. Warmer oceans allow typhoons to strengthen quickly, and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which means heavier precipitation.

“Secure the roofs”

On Saturday, Catanduanes rushed to prepare for the assault, with residents tying up their homes with ropes and putting weights on their roofs.

“They decided to follow our tradition of tying the roofs with thick ropes and anchoring them to the ground, so that they would not be blown away by the wind,” provincial rescue chief Roberto Monterola told AFP.

In Sorsogon, a town in southern Luzon, some sought shelter in a church.

“I’m here because the waves near my house are now huge. I live near the shore and the winds there are now very strong,” Maxine Dugan told AFP on Saturday evening.

Days earlier, Typhoon Kalmaegi sent floodwaters through the cities of Cebu and the Negros Islands, washing away cars, riverside shacks and huge shipping containers.

The typhoon, the deadliest of 2025 according to the EM-DAT disaster database, killed at least 224 people and left 109 missing, according to government figures updated Sunday morning.

On Saturday, rescue chief Myrra Daven told AFP that the approach of a super typhoon had forced the suspension of search and rescue activities in Cebu, where the majority of the dead in Kalmaegi are located.

“We cannot risk the safety of our rescuers. We do not want them to be the next victims,” ​​she said.

© 2025 AFP