As one of the strongest typhoons of the year threatened to cause flooding and landslides on its way to southeast China, at least three people were killed, and thousands of people were evacuated from villages and schools in Northern Philippines. Additionally, offices were closed.
When it slammed into Panuitan Island off Cagayan province in the middle of the afternoon on Monday, Super Typhoon Ragasa reportedly had sustained winds of 215 kilometers per hour (134 miles per hour), with gusts of up to 295 kilometers per hour (183 mph), according to Philippine forecasters.
In the Philippines, tropical cyclones with sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) or higher are referred to as super typhoons, a designation that was made to emphasize the urgency of these extreme weather events.
The storm was generating winds of up to 215 km/h (134 mph) near its center as of 8 p.m. (12:00 GMT), according to the national weather service, with gusts reaching 265 km/h (165 mph) near its center.
Information officer Herbert Singun told the AFP news agency on Calayan Island that one minor injury was caused by a piece of a school roof falling onto an evacuation center 100 feet away (about 30 meters) from the storm’s center.
More than 10,000 Filipinos were evacuated from the country, with government buildings and schools closing on Monday in the Manila region and 29 other provinces.
The Philippines is the first major landmass to face the Pacific cyclone belt, and millions of people are living in constant poverty in disaster-prone regions each year due to an average of 20 storms and typhoons.
Share this:
Related
Source: Aljazeera
Leave a Reply