Typhoon in the Philippines: at least ten dead as Goni impacts more than 2 million people



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The typhoon, known locally as Typhoon Rolly, passed over the south of the country’s main island, Luzon, causing heavy rains, floods and landslides, before weakening as it skirted the limits of the capital Manila.

“The number of affected (is) 372,653 families or 2,068,085 people. Ten are dead and one injured. The cost of the damages is still being evaluated,” said Monday the spokesman of the NDRRMC, Ricardo Jalad.

Typhoon Goni was the strongest storm to occur anywhere in the world so far this year when it made landfall in the Philippines on Sunday morning, with sustained winds of up to 215 kph (133 miles) and gusts of up to 265 kph. (164 mph).
Government officials said that as a result of the heavy rains caused by the typhoon, rivers overflowed and levees were destroyed, while in the Bicol region more than 300 houses were buried under volcanic rocks and lava flows.

Among those missing is believed to be a five-year-old boy who was washed away by floodwaters.

Before the storm made landfall, officials evacuated nearly a million residents in the southern part of the main island of Luzon in the Philippines.

Before Goni’s arrival, there were concerns that it could seriously affect the Philippine capital.

As of Sunday, at least 2,420 families were pre-emptively evacuated in Metro Manila, the NDRRMC said in a tweet.

Floods pass through the ruins of Cagsawa, a famous tourist spot in Daraga, Albay province, in the central Philippines, when Typhoon Goni struck the area on Sunday, November 1.
The storm, which was equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, has now weakened substantially after passing through the Philippines and has been downgraded to a tropical storm, according to the Philippine News Agency.

A Philippine Coast Guard aircraft is being deployed to Catanduanes island, the NDRRMC added, where cell phone towers were collapsed by the typhoon, CNN affiliate CNN Philippines reported.

NDRRMC spokesman Ricardo Jalad said that on Monday and Tuesday relief flights with food and supplies will be deployed to Catanduanes and the city of Legazpi.

Goni is one of the strongest storms to hit the Philippines since Haiyan 2013, which killed more than 6,300 people.

The Philippines’ meteorological office said another cyclone, Tropical Storm Atsani, had entered the country and could gain strength.

Additional information from Reuters.

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