At least two people have died, and well over one million people have been evacuated after super typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung Wong) made landfall in the Philippines late on Sunday, officials said.
Fung-Wong battered eastern and central parts of the country, causing power outages and prompting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to declare a state of emergency. One person drowned in Catanduanes, and firefighters recovered the body of a woman trapped under the debris of a collapsed home in Catbalogan City, officials said on Monday.
With strong sustained winds of up to 230 kilometres per hour, Super Typhoon Fung-Wong made an impact in Aurora province in central Luzon. Those currently in high-risk zones in northeastern regions were told to evacuate on a priority basis, including in Bicol, a coastal region vulnerable to Pacific cyclones and mudflows from Mayon, one of the country's most active volcanoes.
Manila’s Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr warned that Fung-wong could affect large swathes of the country, including the capital Manila and Cebu, the central province hit hardest by the deadly Kalmaegi just a couple of days ago.
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More than 207 people were killed in the Kalmaegi, with more than 100 still missing in the aftermath of the devastating floods triggered by the typhoon. Teodoro Jr urged residents to heed evacuation orders, warning that refusing to comply was dangerous and unlawful.
In his latest state address, Teodoro said, “We ask people to pre-emptively evacuate so that we don't end up having to conduct rescues at the last minute, which could put the lives of police, soldiers, firefighters and coast guard personnel at risk.” More than 30 million people could be exposed to hazards posed by Fung-wong, the Office of Civil Defence said.
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