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MANILA: A powerful typhoon struck central Philippines on Thursday (May 14), forcing a complicated and risky evacuation for tens of thousands of people who had already taken refuge in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
At least 200,000 people live in coastal areas or flimsy houses in the province near where the storm, called Typhoon Vongfong, made landfall in strong winds and heavy rain.
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Tens of millions more live along the path of the typhoon, which is expected to take him near the densely populated capital of Manila.
Due to the twin threat from the storm and the virus, evacuation centers in central Philippines will only accept half their capacity and evacuees will have to wear face masks.
The increase in people and limited space mean that authorities have asked 47 large churches in the area to accept people fleeing the typhoon, which is the first of the season.
“We will feel overwhelmed, so we are expanding our evacuation to include churches,” said Cedric Daep, head of disasters in the central Albay province.
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Vongfong is accumulating gusts of up to 190 km per hour, as well as torrential rains that could cause flooding and landslides, the national weather agency said.
The areas in the path of the typhoon are under varying levels of virus quarantine, yet many people stay home to avoid infection.
The Philippines has reported 772 deaths and 11,618 cases of the virus, although the number is believed to be higher due to limited evidence.
Typhoons are a dangerous and disruptive part of life in the Philippine archipelago, which receives an average of 20 storms and typhoons each year.
Storms put millions of people in disaster-prone areas in a state of constant poverty and a cycle of reconstruction.
Typhoon Kammuri, which hit the Philippines in early December, damaged or destroyed 484,000 houses and caused more than a million people to flee, according to the department of social welfare.
A study conducted in July 2019 by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank said the most frequent storms cut one percent of the Philippine economy, and the strongest storms cut economic output by almost three percent.
The deadliest cyclone on record in the country was Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013.
