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MANILA: The most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines this year destroyed tens of thousands of homes and killed at least 16 people, authorities said on Monday (November 2), as communications with the worst affected areas remained cut off.
Catanduanes Island and the nearby province of Albay, on the most populated island of Luzon, were hit hardest by Typhoon Goni, which saw maximum sustained winds of 225 km / h when it crashed into the east coast on Sunday.
Fierce winds and torrential rains downed power lines, caused flooding and led to landslides that engulfed houses as Goni swept through southern Luzon.
It lost its intensity as it skirted the sprawling capital of Manila and headed toward the South China Sea.
A house stands amid debris after Typhoon Goni struck Daraga, Albay province, Philippines, on Nov.2, 2020, in this photo taken from social media. (David Lee / via REUTERS)
“We are appalled by the devastation caused by this typhoon in many areas, including Catanduanes Island and Albay,” Philippine Red Cross Chief Richard Gordon said in a statement.
“Up to 90 percent of homes have been severely damaged or destroyed in some areas. This typhoon has crashed on people’s lives and livelihoods in addition to the relentless physical, emotional and economic cost of COVID-19.”
Around 400,000 people fled their homes before the typhoon, and most of them remain in evacuation centers as authorities work to restore power and telecommunications services in the worst affected areas.
READ: Philippines evacuate nearly 1 million as world’s strongest typhoon approaches this year
Ten deaths were recorded in Albay province, but provincial disaster chief Cedric Daep said that without preventive evacuations “thousands would have died.”
“We have extensive damage to infrastructure and housing,” Daep said.
“Many people are hungry. They had already suffered COVID-19 due to job loss and displacement. Some do not even have kitchen utensils.”
“SERIOUSLY AFFECTED”
Three of the victims were trapped in volcanic ash landslides that police say engulfed numerous houses in two adjacent villages near the active Mayon volcano. Three more are still missing.
The mayor of Guinobatan, where the villages are located, told local media that around 147 houses had been flooded and some were now uninhabited.
Goni was classified as a “super typhoon” when it made landfall in Catanduanes, where at least six people were killed and authorities estimate that most houses and infrastructure were damaged or destroyed.
“We are very affected here,” Provincial Governor Joseph Cua said at a government briefing.
“The goal should be zero casualties, but since people were forcibly evacuated, our casualties were reduced,” Harry Roque, spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte, said at a press conference.
Previous reports said Duterte would inspect the areas affected by Goni on Monday.
Duterte would fly to Manila from his hometown of Davao and conduct an aerial inspection of some of the worst-hit areas, Roque said. Duterte was in his hometown when the typhoon hit, prompting some public criticism.
Along the areas on Goni’s road, more than 20,000 houses were destroyed and around 55,500 partially damaged, the Civil Defense said in a statement. Agricultural land was also damaged.
Clean-up efforts were underway and residents were removing soaked furniture and other belongings from their homes while scooping out mud and debris after heavy rains flooded the cities.
“It took only a few minutes for the flood to increase, not hours, but minutes,” Alona Espino told AFP in the city of Batangas, south of Manila.
“We have never experienced such a rapid flood.”
A woman wearing a mask to protect herself against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) carries a baby inside a modular tent at an evacuation center, where residents of low-lying areas took shelter after Typhoon Goni, in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. November 2, 2020 (REUTERS / Eloisa Lopez)
The Philippines is affected by an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year, which often wipe out crops, homes and infrastructure, and keep millions of people in perennial poverty.
The deadliest on record was Super Typhoon Haiyan, which unleashed tidal waves in the central city of Tacloban and left more than 7,300 dead or missing in 2013.
Before Goni’s arrival ashore, the Philippines was still recovering from Typhoon Molave that killed 22 people, mostly by drowning in provinces south of the capital Manila.
READ: Vietnam addresses the deadly aftermath of the typhoon as a new storm threatens the region
Another storm, Atsani, is gaining strength in the Pacific Ocean as it approaches the Philippines, which is typically battered by about 20 tropical storms a year.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government said Goni is forecast to make landfall on the country’s central coast on Wednesday night, dumping more heavy rain in an area where flooding and landslides have already killed about 160 people and have left dozens more missing in the past month.
