Typhoon Kammuri slams into Philippines, half-million people in evacuation centers, 17 killed - UPDATE

BBC News
Tue, 03 Dec 2019 04:37 UTC

© Zalrian Sayat/EPA

200,000 people in coastal and mountainous areas have been evacuated

Typhoon Kammuri has made landfall in the central Philippines, at the southern end of Luzon island.

At least 200,000 residents have been evacuated from coastal and mountainous areas over fears of flooding, storm surges and landslides.

Some events at the Southeast Asian Games, which opened on Saturday, have been cancelled or re-scheduled.

Operations at Manila airport were suspended for 12 hours starting 11:00 on Tuesday (03:00 GMT).

One Canadian traveller who arrived in Manila from the central island of Cebu on Monday said it was "the most turbulent flight" she ever took.

"I just discovered what airsickness is," Constance Benoit, 23, told the AFP news agency.

Typhoon Kammuri, locally named Tisoy, made landfall in Sorsogon province, and is said to have sustained winds of up to 155km/h (96mph), with gusts of up to 235km/h.

Storm surges of up to three metres (nearly 10ft) are expected, the weather service said

Tens of thousands had already fled their homes in the east of the country, where the typhoon was expected to hit first.

But some decided to stay despite the storm's impending arrival.

"The wind is howling. Roofs are being torn off and I saw one roof flying," Gladys Castillo Vidal told AFP news agency.

"We decided to stay because our house is a two-storey made of concrete... hopefully it can withstand the storm."

Organisers of the Southeast Asian Games have suspended some competitions, including windsurfing, adding that other events would be delayed if necessary.

But there is no plan to extend the games, which are due to end on 11 December.

The country is hit by an average of 20 typhoons each year.

Comment:

Update: NYT reports:

Typhoon Kammuri swept through the Philippines on Tuesday, ripping rooftops from houses, knocking down power lines and leaving a half-million people huddled in evacuation centers, waiting for the storm to pass. At least 17 people were killed.

Manila's international airport was closed for 12 hours during the storm, resulting in the cancellation of nearly 500 flights. Officials suspended marine traffic in affected areas as Kammuri, packing wind gusts as high as 150 miles per hour, battered the Philippine archipelago for a second day.

By early Wednesday the storm had weakened slightly, officials said, but heavy rainfall was expected to continue. Officials had feared that flooding could deluge Manila, the capital, and its surrounding areas, home to more than 10 million people.

In Albay, a province in southeastern Luzon, the largest and most populous Philippine island, Gov. Al Francis Bichara said fierce winds had caused more damage than the rain.

"Right now there's no electricity, the cables had fallen, but it's calm now," he said, speaking to a Manila radio station.

The army, the police force and emergency service workers were helping to clear roads of debris, said Claudio Yucot, a regional director for civil defense.