At least eight people died as Typhoon Man-yi hit the Philippines. Last weekend, the element hit land twice, bringing heavy downpours and gusty winds. In many regions, great clean-up and loss counting has begun. Local authorities appealed for help for the injured residents.
Man-yi was the sixth typhoon to hit the Philippines in recent weeks. Previously, the country was hit by tropical cyclones: Trami, Yinxing, Usagi, Toraji and Kong-rey.
Man-yi first made landfall on Catanduanes Island on Saturday evening, then rolled along the eastern coast of Luzon and made landfall in Aurora province on Sunday. The element, which is also locally called Pepito, brought extreme rainfall and strong winds, the strongest gusts of which exceeded 300 km/h.
Philippine authorities reported at least eight deaths and several injuries. In many regions, great clean-up and loss counting has begun.
“Most of the houses made of lightweight materials were razed to the ground.”
A powerful typhoon caused widespread destruction in several regions of the Philippines. Residents of the island of Catanduanes will struggle with power outages for up to a month.
“Most of the houses made of lightweight materials have been razed to the ground, and in some houses made of concrete, roofs, doors and windows have been destroyed,” local official Camille Gianan told AFP.
In Isabela Province on the island of Luzon, extreme flooding partially submerged the town of Ilagan. In the coastal town of Baler, Aurora, crews were clearing fallen trees and debris blocking roads. In turn, the authorities of the Camarines province appealed for additional help for residents who have problems with access to water and mobile networks.
An image of a disaster
According to the Philippine Civil Defense Office, Man-yi, along with other tropical cyclones, destroyed about 8,000 homes and forced almost 700,000 people to leave their homes. About 100 cities experienced problems with the supply of electricity.
Some regions have been repeatedly hit by powerful typhoons in recent weeks, which has deepened the scale of destruction.
– They did not recover from the previous disasters when the super typhoon hit […] It was one misfortune after another, Gianan added.
Over 160 people have died in recent weeks due to the impact of six typhoons. The Philippines is hit by about 20 tropical cyclones every year.
Main photo source: Reuters