Super Typhoon ‘Goni’ has hit the eastern region of the Philippines leading to the evacuation of around one million people from the locations estimated to get affected the most. Gushing winds and heavy rains have created havoc in places like Manila, the capital city. The international airport situated in the city has also received orders to shut down in view of the calamity.
On Sunday, Ricardo Jalad, chief of government’s disaster response agency said, “There are so many people who are really in vulnerable areas. We’re expecting major damage.”
Goni struck Catanduanes before sunrise taking with it winds at the speed of 225 km per hour and gusts at 280 km per hour. The figures are equal to that of a Category-5 hurricane, hinting at the hazardous aftermath of the catastrophe. It started heading west, into densely populated areas. This included Manila and other regions, which are already drenched in rain due to the typhoon that took over the place last week and killed 22 people.
“Within the next 12 hours, catastrophic violent winds and intense to torrential rainfall associated with the region of the eyewall and inner rain bands of the typhoon will be experienced,” the Philippines weather agency said in an urgent advisory.
Catanduanes and the other four regions are told to be struck first. Albay, one of these provinces’, residents have been shifted to another place to keep them protected. Thousands of villagers living close to the Mayon volcano have also been moved as the mudflows from the active volcano during previous storms left many dead.
All have been notified of possible landslides, deadlier storms, major floods and vicious winds capable of pulling huts with them.
According to the disaster management agency, around 19 million-31 million people could be hit by Goni.
“The winds are fierce. We can hear the trees being pummelled. It’s very strong,” Francia Mae Borras, 21, told the AFP news agency from her home in the coastal city of Legazpi in Albay province.
The typhoon seems in no mood to spare anyone as its winds blew away the roofs from two evacuation centres, leading to frightened cries from the people who took shelter within them. As such, they were brought in the ground floor, said the Albay provincial public safety chief Cedric Daep to DZBB radio station.
Proving to be one of the worst typhoons of 2020, Goni shares similarities with the November 2013’s typhoon Haiyan. It killed 7,300 people with many still missing, cleared whole villages, pushed in ships set on the shore and snatched the homes of over 5 million people from the central region of Philippines.
Before Goni, Philippines was struck in October by Typhoon Molave that left 22 dead, gushing into the area south to Manila.
Jalad, head of the disaster-response agency, said close to one million people have urgently been shifted to relief centres, with schools and other government buildings acting as these emergency centres.
According to analysts, the typhoon is targeting the immensely populated Manila that houses over 13 million people. Giving the warning, they also asked all residents to prepare themselves with the worst that was coming late on Sunday or early Monday.
With the airport closed for Sunday till Monday till the worst gets over, the government has issued alerts for the departments of military and national police, firefighters and coastguards to stay ready to jump into action for saving people.
The coronavirus situation has made evacuations and safety procedures much tougher than before, said officials.
Around a thousand infected patients were brought into hospitals from camps and tents placed as quarantine centres from Manila and Bulacan. With the probability of more infections, if occupants increase in a particular centre, more emergency relief centres are expected to be put up.
