Super Typhoon Claiming Lives In Philippines

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – Authorities say at least 10 people died and three others were missing Sunday as the world’s strongest typhoon this year raged through the eastern Philippines with disastrous force.

Typhoon Goni triggered volcanic mudflows that engulfed about 150 houses before weakening as it blew away from the country, officials said.

It blasted into the eastern island province of Catanduanes at dawn from the Pacific with sustained winds of 225 kilometers (140 miles) per hour and gusts of 280 kilometers per hour (174 miles).

The super typhoon threatened some provinces still recovering from a deadly storm that hit a week ago.

Goni barreled through densely populated regions and threatened to sideswipe Manila, which shut down its main airport.

But it shifted southward Sunday night and spared the capital, the government weather agency said.

SEVERAL DEAD

Among the dead were at least nine people in the hard-hit province of Albay, including a father and son.

Villagers fled to safety as the typhoon approached, but the two remained in Guinobatan town. Soon after, about 150 houses were inundated by volcanic mudflow, media reported.

Up to a million people were evacuated over the weekend, reports said. Those staying behind were anxiously following news reports with authorities warning of “destructive” winds and flooding.

“Yes, it was very scary,” said Virgie Overdevest, a Christian teacher in Dipolog City. “My family was more in the typhoon area than me. But we were still afraid for a tsunami here,” she told Worthy News.

”There was lots of rain and wind. But I am very happy my daughter is with me,”

said the single mother of one. “I closed the glass door. Then I was watching the mango trees.”

CHRISTIAN TEACHER

The Christian teacher is pleased that her area was spared this time, “but now we are concerned about another expected typhoon.”

More than 300 houses were buried under volcanic rocks, and mudflows from Mayon Volcano severely hit Albay province in the Bicol region, officials said. There were concerns that several people were believed to be buried alive.

Storm surges hit some coastal towns, while rivers overflowed, and dikes were destroyed, submerging several villages in Bicol. The dead and missing were all in Bicol, including nine in Albay, the Office of Civil Defence Told media.

Earlier in the day, Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara said a five-year-old had been washed away in flash floods in his province.

The tragedies added to the misery in this developing nation where authorities are also coping with the coronavirus pandemic. More than 7,000 people died of COVID-19 on a population of some 110 million people, according to official estimates.

While that number is relatively low, not all hospitals are adequately equipped with an influx of patients, Worthy News learned.

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