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MANILA: Filipino officials on Saturday ordered the evacuation of thousands of residents in the southern part of the main island of Luzon as a Category 5 storm, the strongest in the world this year, approaches the Southeast Asian nation.
Typhoon Goni, with sustained winds of 215 km / h and gusts of up to 265 km / h, will make landfall on Sunday as the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines since Haiyan, killing more than 6,300 people in November 2013.
Preventive evacuations have begun in coastal and landslide-prone communities in Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur provinces, while the Albay provincial government would order residents in risky areas to leave their homes, said Gremil Naz, a local official disaster, to DZBB radio station.
“The strength of this typhoon is not a joke.”
Typhoon Molave killed 22 people last week, most by drowning in the provinces south of the capital Manila, which is also on the projected path of Goni, the country’s 18th tropical storm.
Authorities face another obstacle, as social distancing is necessary at evacuation centers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Philippines has the second highest Covid-19 infections and deaths in Southeast Asia, only after Indonesia.
Relief items, heavy machinery and personal protective equipment are already positioned in key areas, Filipino Grace America, mayor of Infanta city in Quezon province, told DZBB radio.
“But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our funds for calamity concerns and expenses are insufficient.”
Local officials canceled port operations and banned fishermen from setting sail.
Typhoon Goni, moving west at 20 km / h from the Pacific Ocean, will bring heavy rains over the capital and 14 nearby provinces Saturday night, and threats of flooding and landslides.
Another typhoon, Atsani, is gathering steam off the Philippines. Around 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year.
