The most powerful hurricane so far this year is weakening, but has already left extensive damage in the archipelago.
At least 14 people have died from typhoon Mangkhut as it passes through the Philippines. The hurricane, already somewhat weaker, has crossed the north of the island of Luzon, the largest and most populated in the country, with winds of 185 kilometers per hour and gusts that have exceeded 300 per hour. Extensive floods, power outages, blocked roads and damaged buildings were some of the most obvious effects of the most powerful cyclone so far this year.
The victims included two workers while trying to rescue several people caught in a landslide in the Cordillera region, according to the director of the Philippine natural disaster agency, Ricardo Jalad, Reuters reports. Police have also made public the discovery of a corpse in a river in the capital, Manila.
In the early hours of the morning, more than 126,000 were directly affected by the typhoon, according to the Ministry of Social Security in Manila. 13,000 families were refugees in 724 evacuation centers.
In a press conference before the two deaths were known, the presidential spokesman, Harry Roque, cautioned against the possibility of victims:
"we still do not have a complete image," he said.
given that the typhoon's passage is still continuing . Some areas are cut off after the hurricane has knocked down power poles and blocked transport routes.
The Philippine meteorological agency, Pagasa, calculates that the storm, which travels at a speed of about 25 kilometers per hour, will leave its area of responsibility early in the evening. The super typhoon, with a diameter of 900 kilometers and whose winds are now 170 km / hour, is heading south of Hong Kong and Macao.
The Philippines has already raised the level 4 alert (out of a maximum of 5) that it had issued for areas of northern Luzon, although it maintains level 3 in the provinces of Cagayán, Ilocos Norte and Sur and Batanes, among others. According to Pagasa, there are still possible increases of six meters of water level in Ilocos Norte, due to the storm, and two meters in other areas.
The typhoon, nicknamed Ompong in the Philippines, made landfall in the early hours of Saturday morning in the coastal city of Baggao, in the province of Cagayan. There it damaged the Tuguegarao airport and swept the roof of the provincial capitol, according to the rappler.com news page.
In a country that still bears the scars of Typhoon Haiyan, which in 2013 left 6,300 dead and five million displaced, the preparations had been frantic in the hours before Mangkhut arrived. Classes had been suspended, official agencies closed on Friday before their usual time, and emergency services were on alert. Numerous flights had been suspended, as well as the marine transport services in the north of the country.
The northern Philippines is where the country's largest rice and corn production is concentrated. Two basic foods that have seen their prices skyrocket, after a year in which the archipelago has already been hit by fifteen typhoons. The hurricane comes at the beginning of the harvest season and the authorities estimate that if the worst forecast is met, Mangkhut could spoil 157,000 tons of rice and 207,000 tons of corn.
The arrival of Mangkhut had awakened echoes of what was the Haiyan Pass five years ago. But there are differences. That gale went through the center of the Philippines, its most populated area, while the new typhoon has passed through an area with a lower density of inhabitants. Manila has also taken note of the mistakes of then. The shelters are built in higher areas and food and water have been distributed in the potentially affected areas, in case the accesses were cut for days.
The UN Global System for Disaster Alert and Coordination estimates that, in total, Mangkhut's passage through Southeast Asia can affect some 43.4 million people.
In Hong Kong, where it is estimated that the typhoon winds will begin to be felt this midnight, the autonomous government has already prepared 48 shelters, while residents on the most exposed islands have been instructed to exercise caution. In the financial center, the recommendation is to avoid going out and approaching the windows.