Tens of thousands flee as super typhoon hits the Philippines
Flood-affected Philippines residents are evacuated from their homes next to a swollen river in Cagayan de Oro City on Mindanao Island, amid heavy rains brought by Super Typhoon Rai.
Thousands of people in the Philippines fled their homes and beachfront resorts as super Typhoon Rai slammed into the country yesterday, with a charity warning the storm could hit coastal communities "like a freight train."
Rai was packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers an hour as it made landfall on the southern island of Siargao at 1:30pm, the state weather forecaster said.
It is the strongest storm to hit the disaster-prone country this year.
"This monster storm is frightening and threatens to hit coastal communities like a freight train," said Alberto Bocanegra, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Philippines.
"We are very concerned that climate change is making typhoons more ferocious and unpredictable."
The weather bureau warned "very destructive" winds could cause "heavy to very heavy damage to structures and vegetation," along with widespread flooding and rain-induced landslides.
More than 90,000 people sought emergency shelter as the storm charged across the Pacific Ocean, disaster agencies said.
Evacuations were still under way in areas in the typhoon's path. Among the evacuees were domestic tourists visiting the country's beaches and dive spots ahead of Christmas.
Foreign travelers are still banned from entering the Philippines under COVID-19 restrictions.
Verified video shot by tourists in Siargao showed trees swaying violently as people waited for the full impact of the typhoon.
In the town of Dapa, families slept on the floor of a sports complex turned into a temporary evacuation center.
Scores of flights have been canceled and dozens of ports temporarily shut as the weather bureau warned several meter-high storm surges could cause "life-threatening flooding" in low-lying coastal areas.
Weather forecaster Christopher Perez said the winds could "topple electric posts and trees" and damage houses made of light materials.
"Brace for heavy rains, brace for strong winds too," Perez told a briefing.
Rai, locally named "Odette," is hitting the Philippines late in the typhoon season, with most cyclones developing between July and October.
It is the second super typhoon to threaten the country since September when Chanthu grazed the northeastern tip of the main island of Luzon.
Scientists have long warned that typhoons are becoming more powerful, and strengthening more rapidly, as the world becomes warmer because of man-made climate change.
A super typhoon is also known as a category five hurricane in the United States.
