MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon Fung-wong blew out of the northwestern Philippines on Monday after triggering floods and landslides, cutting power across entire provinces, killing at least four people and displacing more than 1.4 million others. It was forecast to head northwest toward Taiwan.
Fung-wong struck northeastern Aurora province Sunday night as a super typhoon with sustained winds up to 185 kph (115 mph) and gusts to 230 kph (143 mph). The 1,800-kilometer (1,100-mile) wide storm weakened as it moved through mountainous northern provinces and agricultural plains before exiting La Union province into the South China Sea, state forecasters said.
The deaths included one person who drowned in flash floods in Catanduanes, a woman whose house collapsed in Catbalogan city in eastern Samar, and two children killed when a landslide buried a hillside hut in Kayapa town, Nueva Vizcaya. Their parents and a sibling were injured, police said.
More than 1.4 million people moved into emergency shelters or the homes of relatives before landfall; about 318,000 remained in evacuation centers on Monday. Fierce wind and rain flooded at least 132 northern villages, including one where residents were trapped on roofs as waters rose. Officials reported roughly 1,000 houses damaged and said roads blocked by landslides would be cleared as weather improved.
“While the typhoon has passed, its rains still pose a danger in certain areas” in northern Luzon, including metropolitan Manila, Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV of the Office of Civil Defense said. “We’ll undertake today rescue, relief and disaster-response operations.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had declared a state of emergency on Thursday because of the extensive devastation from Typhoon Kalmaegi and the expected damage from Fung-wong, locally named Uwan. Kalmaegi left at least 224 people dead in central provinces before striking Vietnam, where at least five were killed.
The Philippines has not asked for international aid after Kalmaegi, but officials said longtime allies the United States and Japan stood ready to help. Schools and most government offices were closed Monday and Tuesday. More than 325 domestic and 61 international flights were canceled, and over 6,600 commuters and cargo workers were stranded in ports after the coast guard halted sea traffic.
The Philippines averages about 20 typhoons and storms each year and is frequently affected by earthquakes and volcanic activity, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
