Typhoon Phanfone claims lives in the Philippines
A typhoon – which struck the central islands of the Philippines on 25 December – has claimed the lives at least 16 people, with many still reported missing
Typhoon Phanfone, known locally as Typhoon Ursula, made landfall on the Eastern Samar province on Tuesday 24 December, eventually reaching the central Philippines on 25 December. With wind speeds reaching up to 200 kmph, more than 25,000 people were left stranded in seaports as dangerous waters meant that ferries to and from the islands were cancelled – and domestic and international flights were also cancelled. The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRMC) noted that a total of 58,400 people were pre-emptively evacuated ahead of the typhoon.
In western parts of Visayas, which was one of the regions worst affected, at least 13 deaths have been reported. And the Office of Civil Defense said that three people had also died in Eastern Visayas.
In addition to drownings, downed power lines exposing live cables in flooded areas, as well as falling trees, caused several fatalities. According to NDRMC, 12 people still remain missing. "The likelihood is present that the casualty count will still increase. We're hoping against it," disaster agency spokesman Mark Timbal told news agency AFP.
According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the Philippines gets hit by more typhoons than any other country. This most recent storm, Typhoon Phanfone, followed a similar path to the devastating Typhoon Haiyan, one of the deadliest and most powerful storms on record, which struck in 2013 and claimed the lives of at least 6,000 people.
Meteorologists suggest that the storm will reach northern Vietnam on Sunday, but by this point will have weakened to a tropical depression during its movement across the South China Sea.