Six dead after second typhoon in a week hits the Philippines

BBC:

At least six people have died after a super typhoon barrelled through the Philippines, mere days after an earlier storm left more than 200 people dead.

Super typhoon Fung-wong brought floods and landslides, which caused most of the deaths. It also cut power across entire provinces. It later weakened into a typhoon.

More than 1.4 million people were evacuated ahead of it making landfall in the Philippines. It is now heading for Taiwan, where more than 3,000 people have been evacuated.

Fung-wong was the 21st typhoon to hit the South East Asian nation this year, at a time where many residents are still struggling to recover from back-to-back natural disasters.

Fung-wong, known locally as Uwan, slammed into Aurora province on Luzon Sunday night with sustained winds of around 185 km/h (115mph) and gusts of 230km/h.

The Philippines’ meteorological service had earlier warned of destructive winds and “high-risk of life-threatening” storm surges from the “very intense” typhoon.

In Cabanatuan, one of the worst-hit cities, the BBC saw residents rushing into their homes to pull out furniture and pets on Monday, desperate to salvage as many of their possessions possible as water levels rose.

Although its wind speeds did not come up to par with some of the strongest storms in the Philippines’ history, Fung-wong dumped large amounts of rain on the country, leaving some 4,100 houses either totally destroyed or partially damaged.

Cabanatuan resident Mercidita Adriano and her family had trimmed trees near their home last week to prepare for the storm.

When the winds and rain intensified, ten of them crowded into a small room, praying throughout the day that the typhoon would spare their house, she told the BBC. Part of their roof was torn off by the heavy rain.

Large parts of the country are still under water although the levels have gone down as of Tuesday morning.

It comes just days after typhoon Kalmaegi ripped through the same region, leaving tens of thousands of people reeling. And in September, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit the province of Cebu.

While the Philippines is prone to natural disasters, this series of catastrophes is “not routine”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a statement on Sunday.

“It is a stark reminder of the escalating climate and seismic risks faced by vulnerable nations. Urgent support is needed to scale up relief efforts, prevent further loss of life and support the country as it recovers from this latest disaster,” it said.