More than one million people have been evacuated and at least one person killed as rising floodwaters swept through parts of the Philippines ahead of Typhoon Fung-wong’s expected landfall on the country’s eastern coast.
The super typhoon is forecast to unleash destructive winds and heavy rain across much of the archipelago, where just last week Typhoon Kalmaegi left more than 220 people dead.
Officials confirmed one fatality linked to Fung-wong on Sunday. Juniel Tagarino, a rescuer in Catbalogan City, told AFP that the body of a 64-year-old woman who was trying to flee her home had been found under debris and fallen trees.
“Last night, the wind was so strong and the rain was heavy … According to her family members, she might have forgotten something and went back inside her house,” Tagarino said, adding that relatives were only 50 metres away when they realised she was missing.
In Aurora province, where the storm’s eye is expected to make landfall, government employee Aries Ora, 34, told AFP he had begun boarding up his home in Dipaculao with steel sheets and wooden planks.
“What really scares us is that the expected landfall is at night,” he said.
“Unlike previous typhoons, we won’t be able to clearly see the movement of the wind and what’s happening around us.”
Authorities ordered schools and government offices to close on Monday across the main island of Luzon, including the capital, Manila, where nearly 300 flights have already been cancelled.
Earlier on Sunday, Catanduanes, a small island province expected to take a “direct hit,” was already being pounded by strong winds and driving rain. Storm surges sent waves crashing onto roads as floodwaters rose in coastal communities.
Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense, said at a briefing: “As we speak they are feeling the impact of the typhoon, especially in Catanduanes, because the storm’s eye is closest there.”
Edson Casarino, 33, a resident of Virac in Catanduanes, said: “The waves started roaring around 7am. When the waves hit the seawall, it felt like the ground was shaking.”
Video verified by AFP showed floodwaters surrounding a church in the town, reaching halfway up its main entrance.
Flooding has also been reported in parts of southern Luzon’s Bicol region, Alejandro added, confirming that nearly 1.2 million people nationwide have been preemptively evacuated.
In Guinobatan, a town of about 80,000 in Albay province, verified video showed streets turned into torrents of muddy water.
Meteorologists said Typhoon Fung-wong could dump at least 200 millimetres (8 inches) of rain over large parts of the country in the coming days.
Scientists have warned that such storms are growing stronger and more destructive due to the human-driven climate crisis. Warmer oceans enable typhoons to intensify more rapidly, while a hotter atmosphere carries more moisture, producing heavier rainfall and worsening floods.
