Typhoon Rai made landfall in the Philippines on Thursday, bringing with it sustained winds of up to 195 kilometers (120 miles) an hour.

Nearly 100,000 people fled their homes in advance of the storm, which the weather bureau has warned could cause "heavy to very heavy damage to structures," as well as severe flooding and landslides. Scores of flights have been canceled and dozens of ports temporarily closed, stranding some 4,000 passengers and ferry and cargo ship workers.

"This monster storm is frightening and threatens to hit coastal communities like a freight train," said Alberto Bocanegra, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Philippines.

Disaster-prone country

The typhoon hit land on the southern island of Siargao at 1:30 p.m. local time (0530 UTC), according to the state weather forecaster.

No casualities have been reported so far, but the nation's disaster agency said accounts had come in of power blackouts and floods in some areas. 

Rai, a so-called super typhoon that would be classed as a category 5 hurricane in the US, is expected to weaken slightly as it moves across the Visayas region, and the Mindanao and Palawan islands. It is then forecast to leave the Philippines over the South China Sea and head toward Vietnam.

The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 storms and typhoons every year. Scientists have warned that such weather events are becoming more serious as a result of climate change.

The situation in the Philippines is complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, with safe distancing difficult to uphold in crowded evacuation centers. 

The country has already detected the first COVID-19 infections caused by the highly infectious omicron variant of the coronavirus.

tj/msh (AFP, AP)