Residents of mountainous and coastal regions in dozens of provinces have been evacuated as the country braces for its 20th typhoon this year. Manila's international airport will close on Tuesday as a precaution.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
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Philippines: Typhoon Kammuri displaces hundreds of thousands
The powerful typhoon Kammuri has forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in the Philippines. It has severely disrupted travel, work and school in the archipelago nation.
Image: Reuters/G.C. Vidal
Massive disruption
Typhoon Kammuri has caused widespread disruption to life in the Philippines, shutting down schools, offices and transport amid fierce winds and heavy rain. Over 483,000 people were forced to flee their homes in Bicol and nearby provinces. Officials warned of storm surges and prolonged heavy rain.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Not the first one this year
Kammuri, locally called Tisoy, is the 20th cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, according to the weather bureau. It was expected to move past the country by Friday morning.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Favila
Airport shut down
The storm's potent gusts forced authorities to close Manila's international airport on Tuesday as a precaution. Nearly 500 flights were cancelled, and officials warned passengers not to come to the airport.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Stranded travelers
The Philippines' coast guard also suspended sea travel in the northeast, stranding thousands of travelers, cargo ships and smaller watercraft in the archipelago nation.
Image: AFP/A. Beronio
Rescheduling games
The Philippines is currently hosting thousands of Southeast Asian athletes for biennial regional games that opened on Saturday and run until December 11. The storm has forced organizers to postpone several events until later in the competition, among them surfing, kayak, windsurfing, polo, sailing, skateboarding and canoeing.
Image: Reuters/G.C. Vidal
A disaster-prone nation
The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year and has frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, making the archipelago of more than 100 million people one of the world's most disaster-prone nations. The country's deadliest cyclone on record was Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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The Philippines evacuated 200,000 people and will close the country's main international airport as Typhoon Kammuri made landfall on Monday night.
The 20th typhoon to hit the country this year, Typhoon Kammuri (also called Tisoy) made landfall in Gubat, Sorsogon, on the southeastern part of Luzon Island, at 11 p.m. local time (1500 UTC), according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
The typhoon is packing maximum wind speeds of 175 kilometers per hour (108 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 240 kilometers per hour (149 miles per hour), PAGASA reported, and will continue to bring violent winds and intense rainfall as it tears through the country.
The country's disaster agency said 200,000 people living in coastal and mountainous areas had been evacuated from dozens of provinces in southern Luzon due to fears of flooding and landslides.
The cyclone is expected to blow near Manila at midday on Tuesday.
The Philippines is bracing for the 20th typhoon to hit this yearImage: picture-alliance/AP
All four terminals of Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport will be closed from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesday as a precaution.
Officials have warned of storm surges of up to 3 meters (nearly 10 feet), according to the Office of Civil Defense.
"We're aiming for zero casualties and we can attain that with preemptive evacuations,'' said Ricardo Jalad, who heads the government's disaster response agency.
The Philippines is currently hosting thousands of athletes from the region for the Southeast Asia Games, which are set to run through December 11. Windsurfing and canoeing competitions scheduled for Tuesday have been suspended.
