Terrible typhoon brings huge destruction to Southeast Asia

Terrible typhoon brings huge destruction to Southeast Asia

Reviews of weather events, natural disasters, astronomical phenomena and wildlife around the world

A super typhoon has hit the Philippines’ largest island, forcing more than half a million people to seek shelter from the latest in a series of powerful storms threatening the country.

Typhoon Man Yi, known as Pepito in the Philippines, made landfall in Catanduanes province and then continued across the sea to the coast of the main island of Luzon.

Man-Yi is an unprecedented fourth typhoon to hit the Philippines in less than two weeks, according to a CNN analysis of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s historical hurricane database. It is also the sixth typhoon to hit the Philippines in the past 30 days. Its path was further south than the previous three typhoons, affecting far more people.

The weather agency PAGASA said Man-Yi caused significant damage as it moved across Luzon, home to more than half the country’s population. The agency added that the typhoon still poses a “potentially dangerous and life-threatening situation.”

Wind speeds at the center of Man Yi reach 185 km/h with gusts of up to 230 km/h, which corresponds to a Category 3 hurricane, PAGASA said.

The Philippines is hit by many storms every year, but the rapid pace of the typhoon streak over the past month has complicated recovery efforts, with thousands of people remaining in evacuation centers. Typhoon Yinxing made landfall in the northeastern Philippines last week with winds equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic. There were no casualties, but the storm brought heavy rains, storm surges and landslides.

Before Man Yi arrived, more than 500,000 people had already been evacuated in Luzon’s Bicol region, a disaster management official said. That number has now increased by at least 26,000 people evacuated in Northern Samar province, according to the state-run Philippine News Service (PNA).

The Philippines, which faces 20 tropical storms every year, is becoming increasingly vulnerable due to climate change. Warmer waters amplify the power of storms, with tragic consequences. The worst storm to hit the Philippines in the 21st century was Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which claimed more than 6,300 lives.

#typhoon
#hurricane
#Asia