Typhoon Rai rapidly intensified into a Category 5 hurricane before making landfall in the southern Philippines on Thursday, forcing massive evacuations and flight cancellations as floodwaters reached chestnut in low-lying areas. The Philippine Weather Bureau said Rai, the 15th storm to enter Philippine territory this year, hit the holiday island of Sirgao in the southern province of Surigao del Norte, packing maximum sustained winds of 195 km (121 mph) per hour. .
Nearly 100,000 people have fled their homes in the second most powerful storm to hit the country this year, bringing heavy rains to the southern islands headed for the central part of the archipelago.
The country’s disaster agency said it had received reports of power outages and flooding in some areas, but there were no casualties so far.
Footage shared by the Philippine Coast Guard shows rescuers walking through chest-deep waters in the city of Cagayan de Oro on the northern coast of Mindanao, while carrying residents in rubber boats.
Philippine Red Cross President Richard Gordon said in a statement, “Philippines are tough but this super typhoon is a bitter blow to the millions who are still recovering from devastating storms, floods and COVID-19. “
Airlines canceled dozens of flights, while transport authorities banned sea and land travel in the central and southern Philippines, leaving thousands stuck at ports.
The Southeast Asian nation postponed the start of a massive vaccination campaign in most parts of the country because of the storm.
The Philippines, a country of more than 7,600 islands, experiences about 20 tropical storms a year, causing flooding and landfall.
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