At least 16 people have reportedly lost their lives to the most powerful typhoon to hit the Philippines this year. Tens of thousands of homes were also destroyed, officials said Monday, as communications to the worst-hit areas remained cut off.
Catanduanes Island and nearby Albay province on the most populous island of Luzon bore the brunt of Typhoon Goni which was packing maximum sustained wind speeds of 225 kilometres (140 miles) per hour when it slammed into the east coast on Sunday.
Ferocious winds and torrential rain toppled power lines, triggered flooding and sparked landslides that engulfed houses as Goni swept across the southern part of Luzon.
It lost intensity as it skirted the sprawling capital of Manila and headed out to the South China Sea.
“We are horrified by the devastation caused by this typhoon in many areas including Catanduanes island and Albay,” Philippines Red Cross chief Richard Gordon said in a statement.
“Up to 90 percent of homes have been badly damaged or destroyed in some areas. This typhoon has smashed into people’s lives and livelihoods on top of the relentless physical, emotional and economic toll of Covid-19.”
Hundreds of thousands of people fled their homes ahead of the typhoon and many of them remain in evacuation centres as authorities scramble to restore power and telecommunications services in the hardest-hit areas.
Ten deaths were recorded in Albay province, but provincial disaster chief Cedric Daep said without pre-emptive evacuations “thousands would have died”.
“We have extensive damage to infrastructure and housing,” Daep said.
“Many people are hungry. They had already suffered from Covid due to the loss of jobs and dislocation. Some don’t even have kitchen utensils.”
Three of the victims were caught in landslides of volcanic ash that police said engulfed numerous houses in two adjacent villages near the active Mayon volcano. Another three are still missing.
The mayor of Guinobatan, where the villages are located, told local media that around 147 homes had been swamped and some were now unlivable.
Goni was ranked as a “super typhoon” when it made landfall on Catanduanes where at least six people died and authorities estimate most houses and infrastructure were damaged or destroyed.
