Tens of thousands evacuated as Typhoon Man-yi nears Philippines

ANKARA

As Super Typhoon Man-yi moves closer to the Philippines, tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, marking the fifth tropical storm to hit the nation in the past three weeks, state media reported Saturday.

So far, over 124,000 individuals, or 43,623 families, have followed the government’s evacuation orders, as Typhoon Man-yi, locally known as Pepito, is expected to make landfall in Catanduanes by Saturday night or Sunday morning. The storm is predicted to bring wind gusts of up to 149 miles per hour (240 kilometers per hour), the Philippine News Agency reported, citing the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

The storm is on course to impact the island province of Catanduanes, which is sparsely populated, at near-peak intensity or as a super typhoon.

OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno urged residents in areas prone to storm surges and landslides in the storm’s direct path to evacuate. “It’s more dangerous now for those in landslide-prone areas because the ground has been saturated by the consecutive typhoons,” he warned.

In the capital Manila, authorities have ordered the preemptive evacuation of residents from seven high-risk coastal areas.

State weather officials have indicated that over 7.6 million people are at risk from storm surges reaching 1-3 meters (3 to 10 feet).

Local officials have cautioned of the possibility of life-threatening inundation due to rising seawater and high waves in low-lying coastal areas.

Higher ground

By Saturday afternoon, a tropical cyclone warning signal number 5 had been issued for Catanduanes as Man-yi intensified.

Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla announced that “forced” evacuations would begin in coastal areas of Eastern Visayas, Bicol, Calabarzon, and Cagayan Valley starting Friday night, according to the Manila Times.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed government agencies to move people to higher ground as authorities anticipate that nearly 2 million people could be affected by the storm.

"It's not enough to move them away from the sea. We have to get them to high ground. That's the only thing that we can do when there is a storm surge," he was quoted as saying.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has stated that more than 1.9 million people could be at risk from the storm.

The Philippine Coast Guard has suspended all shipping operations between Allen and Matnog, as well as other parts of the Northern Samar province.

Additionally, Marcos mentioned that the Philippines might need to import up to 4.5 million tons of rice due to the agricultural damage caused by the recent typhoons.