At least 16 people have died as a super typhoon devastated the Philippines with 190mph winds and volcanic mudflows that engulfed entire villages.
Typhoon Goni, one of the most powerful typhoons this year, blasted into the eastern island province of Catanduanes, threatening some provinces still recovering from a deadly typhoon that hit a week ago.
Goni barrelled through densely populated regions and threatened to sideswipe Manila, which shut down its main airport, but shifted southward on Sunday night, sparing the capital.
Powerful winds and heavy rains left 10 dead in Albay province and another six in Catanduanes, both south of the main island of Luzon, home to half of the country’s 108 million population.
Villagers in Albay fled to safety as the typhoon approached, but a father and son stayed put in the community in Guinobatan town, where about 150 houses were inundated by volcanic mudflow.
‘The child was found 15 kilometres away,’ Albay’s Governor told local radio, adding the boy was swept away by mudflows and found in the next town.
Another three people were reported missing, while other deaths in Albay included a villager who was pinned by a fallen tree.
Catanduanes, a province of 275,000 people, was cut off, with communication and power lines down.
Goni affected 2.1 million residents in Luzon, which accounts for more than two thirds of the economy, and over 50,000 homes were without power on Monday.
The typhoon destroyed up to 80% of homes in several towns in Catanduanes, Senator Richard Gordon, chief of the Philippine Red Cross, told local radio.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is due to inspect areas hit by the typhoon today, as authorities claimed mandatory evacuations had prevented a higher death toll even as some areas remained cut off.
‘The goal should be zero casualties but since people were forcibly evacuated our casualties were reduced,’ Duterte’s spokesperson said.
Duterte will fly to Manila from his home town of Davao and conduct an aerial inspection of some of the worst hit areas.
Ahead of Goni’s landfall, the Philippines was still reeling from typhoon Molave that killed 22 people, mostly through drowning in provinces south of Manila.
Another storm, Atsani, is gaining strength in the Pacific Ocean as it approaches the Philippines, which is usually hit by around 20 tropical storms annually.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s government said Goni is forecast to make landfall on the country’s central coast Wednesday night, dumping more heavy rain in an area where floods and landslides have already killed around 160 people and left dozens of others missing over the past month.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
source https://metro.co.uk/2020/11/02/super-typhoon-with-190mph-winds-batters-the-philippines-killing-at-least-16-13519008/