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Vamco is the 21st storm to hit the Philippines this year, and it comes as communities are still trying to clean up after Typhoon Goni.
Philippine authorities on Wednesday ordered thousands of residents in eastern coastal communities to evacuate ahead of Typhoon Vamco, just weeks after the country was hit by the most powerful storm on record anywhere in the world this year. .
Vamco, which carries sustained winds of 125 kilometers per hour (78 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 155 kilometers per hour (96.3 kilometers per hour), will make landfall later on Wednesday and is the 21st tropical storm to hit the Philippines. this year.
“We are only 1 percent into our recovery and then another typhoon comes. Now we are feeling strong winds and rain, ”Joseph Cua, governor of Catanduanes province, told the DZMM radio station.
The island province of Catanduanes and nearby Albay, both southeast of the capital Manila, were hit hardest by Typhoon Goni in late October, a Category 5 typhoon that killed 25 people and left six missing.
Vamco is due to make landfall on Polillo Island on Wednesday night and reach the rice-producing provinces north of the capital before leaving the main island of Luzon in the Philippines on Thursday, Chris Perez, a state meteorologist, told DZMM.
Residents of coastal communities, expecting a storm surge of up to three meters (nine feet), have been ordered to leave their homes, said Cristina Bosque, mayor of Polillo. But ensuring the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 in evacuation centers remains a challenge, he said.
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, typically experiences about 20 tropical storms each year.
Floods in Albay province after Typhoon Goni, which hit the Philippines late last month [Renz Adrian Ronda/via Reuters]
Vamco is expected to head towards the central region of Vietnam after leaving the Philippines.
Floods and landslides in the last month have already killed at least 160 people in that area and have left dozens missing, according to official data.
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