By Adrian Portugal and Eloisa Lopez
ISABELA, Philippines (Reuters) -At least two people died in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Fung-wong lashed central and eastern parts of the country, with heavy rains and strong winds cutting power in large areas of the Bicol region ahead of its expected landfall in northern Luzon.
More than a million people have evacuated vulnerable areas ahead Super Typhoon Fung-wong’s projected landfall in Aurora province as early as Sunday night, with officials urging residents to heed evacuation orders.
Sustained winds of 185 kph (115 mph) and gusts of up to 230 kph (140 mph) are already battering many parts of Luzon with the Fung-wong’s massive rain bands, the authorities said.
More areas across Luzon, the Philippines’ most populous island, have been placed under the highest and second-highest storm warning levels while Metro Manila and nearby provinces remain at level 3.
As a safety precaution, the civil aviation regulator has closed several airports, including Bicol International Airport and Sangley in Metro Manila.
The civil defence office reported that one person drowned in Catanduanes and firefighters recovered the body of a woman trapped under debris of a collapsed home in Catbalogan City.
Named locally as Uwan, Fung-wong is the 21st storm this year to hit a nation that normally has about 20 a year and threatens to place further strain on disaster response efforts as the Southeast Asian archipelago recovers from Typhoon Kalmaegi, which killed 224 people in the Philippines and five in Vietnam.
Fung-wong is expected to head northwest from Monday and then north by Tuesday, remaining at typhoon intensity, said weather bureau PAGASA.
By Wednesday, it is projected to move towards the Taiwan Strait, weakening before landfall in western Taiwan on Thursday. It is then forecast to lose strength rapidly before emerging over the waters of Ryukyu Islands as a weak tropical system.
AUTHORITIES URGE EVACUATIONS
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro urged residents in the storm’s path to heed evacuation orders, warning that refusing to comply was dangerous and unlawful.
“We ask that people to preemptively evacuate so that we don’t end up having to conduct rescues at the last minute, which could put the lives of police, soldiers, firefighters and coast guard personnel at risk,” he said in a public address.
Authorities hope to avoid casualties this time, civil defence official Raffy Alejandro told a press conference.
The military has redirected about 2,000 troops from field training to focus on humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
‘WE ARE SCARED’
In Isabela in northern Luzon, dozens of families were sheltering in a basketball court repurposed as an evacuation centre.
“We heard on the news that the typhoon is very strong, so we evacuated early,” said Christopher Sanchez, 50, who fled with his family.
“We left our things on the roofs of our house, since every time there’s a storm, we come here because we live right next to the river,” he told Reuters. “In previous storms, the floodwaters rose above human height.
“We’re scared. We’re here with our grandchildren and our kids. The whole family is in the evacuation area.”
(Reporting by Karen LemaAdditional reporting by Minh Nguyen and Thinh Nguyen in VietnamEditing by William Mallard and David Goodman)
