Philippines evacuates thousands ahead of Typhoon Yinxing

MANILA: The Philippines has evacuated thousands of people from coastal communities ahead of a major typhoon, officials said Thursday, just weeks after a tropical cyclone left at least 150 people dead.

Packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 175 kilometres (109 miles) per hour, Typhoon Yinxing could make landfall in the northern Philippines later in the day or early Friday, the state weather agency said.

Yinxing is the third storm in less than a month to threaten the Philippines after Severe Tropical Storm Trami and Super Typhoon Kong-rey together left 158 people dead, the national disaster agency said, with most of that tally attributed to Trami.

At least 17,000 people from coastal areas of Cagayan province, in the country’s far north, moved into temporary shelters on Wednesday to avoid potential flooding from heavy rains now pounding the region, provincial rescue official Rueli Rapsing told AFP.

“I’m expecting more evacuees to arrive since there is an ongoing evacuation in the municipalities,“ Rapsing said.

The national weather agency said Cagayan, home to about 1.3 million people, might bear the brunt of Yinxing based on its current trajectory.

“We have already depleted the quick response fund of the province and we’re actually asking the national disaster council for the replenishment of the quick response fund so we can provide assistance,“ Rapsing said.

In Ilocos Norte province near Cagayan, rescuers were on standby to help local police, fire officers and soldiers in emergency response, provincial rescue official Randy Nicolas told AFP.

Nicolas said they are closely monitoring possible landslides, floods and swelling of rivers in the province, with storm surges -- huge waves along the coast, also a concern in Ilocos Norte and Cagayan.

Disaster officials in the mountainous province of Apayao said almost 500 people have been evacuated.

“We really prioritised preemptive evacuations because we want to have zero deaths here in Apayao,“ provincial disaster official Aldrin Agmata told AFP.

School has been suspended in many areas of the north and President Ferdinand Marcos put all government agencies on high alert so they can swiftly respond.

“Remember, every life is important so we should always be prepared,“ Marcos said in a statement on Wednesday.