The storm intensified as it approached the coast and intensified into a 5th storm from Type 1 in 24 hours.
The epicenter was reported below the Pacific Ocean floor, however; no tsunami alert was issued. Hours).
About 198,000 people have already been evacuated from their homes to government shelters, the country’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Thursday.
Several precautionary evacuations and storm preparations began earlier in the week and the country began to see heavy rain. In the central Misamis Oriental province, the Ake-ion River flooded on Tuesday.
The man-made climate crisis makes hurricanes, tornadoes and hurricanes more intense and devastating, and the Philippines is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world.
The hurricane is expected to make landfall in the central and southern regions of the country. Some bad conditions are expected in the province of Surigao, located in the northern tip of Mindanao, one of the main islands in the country.
The storm is expected to hit several provinces in the Visayas region, the central group of islands. According to 2020 official figures, more than 20 million people live in Visa.
In Surigao province, more than 2,600 people were evacuated as of Wednesday evening, according to the state-owned Philippine News Agency.
Photographs in Surigao show that plastic tents were set up in a large hall, with families sleeping on the floor mats and tarpaulins, turning a playground into an evacuation center.
Meanwhile, in Eastern Visayas, more than 45,000 people have been evacuated to government shelters in the eastern Visayas region, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Thursday.
Ben Everton, governor of the province of Samar in eastern Visayas, said: “We are already being hit by strong winds and rain.
Flood and landslide hazards
In the city of Ducloban, just outside the battlefield, hundreds of residents have taken refuge in evacuation sites. Many lived in Yolanda, the super typhoon that killed more than 6,000 Filipinos in 2013 – they are now taking no chances.
“We are concerned that this storm is heading in the same direction as the hurricane in 2011, and another is in 2013,” said Karen Janes Unger, national representative for the Philippine Humanitarian Organization for Relief Services.
“However, we have learned a lot from these two disasters, and many more disaster preparedness … for this emergency.”
The biggest concern is that small towns along the coast, inhabited by fishermen and poor people may not be able to access or exit government notices.
Thousands of villages along the storm’s planned route are at high risk of flooding and landslides, with the region’s soil already saturated and unstable due to weekly heavy rains, the Bureau of Mines and Earth Sciences said, urging local authorities to prepare evacuation plans.
Airlines have canceled dozens of flights, while transportation authorities have banned sea and land travel in the central and southern Philippines, leaving thousands stranded in ports.
Humanitarian organizations and aid agencies are also on the scene, working with local authorities to prepare for storms and assist in evacuations. Teams from the Philippine Red Cross have been deployed across the East Coast to help organize first aid teams, food and water and blankets and safety equipment.
“The Philippines is tough, but this super typhoon will be a bitter blow to the millions of people still recovering from devastating storms, floods and Govt-19s over the past year,” Richard Gordon, president of the Philippine Red Cross, said in a news release on Thursday.
Super Typhoon Roy is the 15th hurricane to hit the country this year – adding to the struggle of people still recovering. According to the Red Cross, millions of people are still rebuilding their homes and livelihoods, especially after several devastating storms late last year.
Contributed by Reuters report.
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