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MANILA: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte will inspect areas affected by Typhoon Goni, the strongest typhoon in the world this year, on Monday (November 2), as authorities claimed that mandatory evacuations had prevented a higher death toll. even when some areas remained isolated.
The country’s disaster agency said in a statement that Goni had killed at least 16 people and three missing people.
Goni, the 18th cyclone to hit the Philippines this year and one of the strongest typhoons to hit the nation since Haiyan that killed more than 6,300 people in 2013, hit the provinces south of the capital on Sunday.
A house stands amid the rubble after Typhoon Goni struck Daraga, Albay province, Philippines, on Nov.2, 2020, in this photo taken from social media. David Lee / via REUTERS
“The goal should be zero casualties, but since people were forcibly evacuated, our casualties were reduced,” said Harry Roque, a spokesman for Duterte, at a news conference.
READ: Philippines evacuate nearly 1 million as world’s strongest typhoon approaches this year
Duterte will fly to Manila from his hometown of Davao on Monday and conduct an aerial survey of some of the worst-hit areas, Roque said. Duterte was in his hometown when the typhoon hit, prompting some public criticism.
The Philippine police chief was heading to Guinobatan in Albay province after a local lawmaker reported that some 300 houses had been buried under volcanic rock and mud streams from Mayon volcano.
A house is partially submerged in the rubble caused by Typhoon Goni in Daraga, Albay province, Philippines, on Nov.2, 2020, in this photo taken from social media. David Lee / via REUTERS
Goni, which had gusts of up to 310 km / h, destroyed up to 80 percent of the houses in several cities in Catanduanes, Senator Richard Gordon, head of the Philippine Red Cross, told DZBB radio station.
Catanduanes, a province of 275,000 inhabitants, was cut off and power and communication lines fell, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.
Goni affected 2.1 million residents in Luzon, which represents more than two-thirds of the economy, and 50,000 homes were without power on Monday.
A woman wearing a mask to protect against 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
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.
