Five million could be hit by super storm as gusts of up to 255km/h are expected

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The Philippines is braced for one of the strongest typhoons in its history, as authorities evacuate families in their thousands, close schools and put rescuers and troops on full alert in the country’s north.

Five million people are expected to be affected by Typhoon Mangkhut, which experts have categorised as a super typhoon with powerful winds and gusts equivalent to a category-5 Atlantic hurricane.

By Friday morning, almost 10,000 people across three regions had been evacuated and 22 domestic flights cancelled. By the evening, strong winds had already downed trees in Tuguegarao, a city in the main northern island of Luzon, where almost all businesses had been shuttered and police were patrolling otherwise quiet streets.

Weather experts said the storm almost matched the strength of Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and displaced more than five million in the central Philippines in 2013.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Huge waves crash into the coast in Taitung county, eastern Taiwan on Friday. Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images

Mangkhut was on course to hit north-eastern Cagayan province early on Saturday local time. It was tracked on Friday about 250 miles (450km) away in the Pacific with sustained winds of 205km/h and gusts of up to 255km/h, Philippine forecasters said. Forecasts indicated that waves could climb to six metres on the coasts of Cagayan.

It was predicted to travel across the South China Sea and pass within 62 miles of Hong Kong on Sunday morning.

With a massive rain-cloud band 560 miles wide, combined with seasonal monsoon rains, the typhoon could bring intense rains that could trigger landslides and flash floods, the forecasters said. Storm warnings were raised in 25 provinces across Luzon, restricting sea and air travel.

Ricardo Jalad, the country’s civil defence chief, told an emergency meeting led by President Rodrigo Duterte that about 4.2 million people in Cagayan, nearby Isabela province and outlying regions were vulnerable to the most destructive effects near the typhoon’s 78 mile eye. Nearly 48,000 houses in those high-risk areas are made of light materials and vulnerable to Mangkhut’s winds.

CNN (@CNN) Video shows Super Typhoon Mangkhut tearing through Guam, in the western Pacific.



It has caused widespread flooding and power loss, with parts of the US territory still without electricity on Thursday morning. https://t.co/EhtUajxigs pic.twitter.com/JKMPvHpWBK

Across the north, residents covered glass windows with wooden boards, strengthened houses with rope and braces and moved fishing boats to safety.

Manuel Mamba, the governor of Cagayan, said that evacuations of residents from risky coastal villages and island municipalities north of the rice-and corn-producing province of 1.2 million people have started and school classes at all levels have been cancelled.

Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) #WeatherAlert: Isabela, Cagayan, and the northern part of Aurora are now under Signal No. 3 due to Typhoon #OmpongPH as of 8 am on Friday, September 14.



READ: https://t.co/8QBEv5bg7f pic.twitter.com/osuRF2ZhZw

“The weather here is still good but we’re moving them now because it’s very important that when it comes, people will be away from peril,” Mamba said.

A change in the typhoon’s track prompted authorities to rapidly reassess where to redeploy emergency teams and supplies, Mamba said.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Villagers secure a boat in Aparri, Cagayan province. Photograph: Francis R. Malasig/EPA

Duterte asked cabinet officials from the north to help oversee disaster-response work if needed, but told reporters it was too early to consider seeking foreign aid.

“It would depend on the severity of the crisis,” Duterte said. “If it flattens everything, maybe we need to have some help.”

The typhoon is approaching at the start of the rice and corn harvesting season in Cagayan, a major agricultural producer, and farmers were scrambling to save what they could of their crops, Mamba said. The threat to agriculture comes as the Philippines tries to cope with rice shortages.

Officials said other northern provinces started evacuating residents from high-risk areas, including in northern mountain provinces prone to landslides.

Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) More than 43 million people could be affected by Super Typhoon #Mangkhut, predicted to be most powerful storm since records began and Hong Kong could take direct hit: https://t.co/b95L8TmTmo



The warning signs are everywhere. We must act on #climate.#ActOnClimate #energy pic.twitter.com/HzZyHYi7nm

Duterte cancelled his appearance at a missile test firing aboard a navy ship off northern Bataan province due to the approaching typhoon.

On Guam, where Mangkhut passed, residents dealt with flooded streets, downed trees and widespread power outages. Government agencies were conducting damage assessments and clearing roads, according to the Pacific Daily News. About 80% of the US territory was without power but it was restored by Thursday morning.

Mangkhut, a Thai word for the mangosteen fruit, is the 15th storm this year to batter the Philippines, which is hit by about 20 a year and is considered one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

Carmela Fonbuena contributed reporting