MORE than 700,000 people fled their homes in the Visayas amid threats of giant waves, floods and landslides as powerful Typhoon “Nona” (international name Melor) approached the country, officials said Monday.
Nona brushed the northern tip of Samar early Monday, with winds gusting at 185 kilometers per hour, the state weather bureau said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damages.
Upon making landfall, Nona swept through the towns of Batag, Laoang and Rawis, uprooting coconut trees and inundating low-lying areas, said Edgar Posadas, director of the Office of Civil Defense for Region VII.
“The wind was very strong and was felt all over Samar and Biliran provinces. Coconut trees were felled, roofs were blown off and there has been reported flooding,” Posadas said.
Storm signal no. 3 was raised over Sorsogon; Masbate, including Ticao and Burias islands; Albay; Southern Quezon; Camarines Sur; Camarines Norte; Catanduanes; Marinduque; Romblon, and Northern Samar.
Signal no. 2 remained in effect over Batangas, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, the rest of Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Samar and Biliran.
Metro Manila; Bulacan; Bataan; Pampanga; Southern Zambales; Southern Aurora; Coron; Leyte; Northern Cebu, including Bantayan and Camotes islands; Aklan; Capiz; Northern Antique; Northern Negros Occidental, and Northern Iloilo were under signal no. 1.
The weather bureau warned of possible storm surges of up to four meters in coastal areas of Luzon and the Visayas.
Posadas said after hitting Northern Samar, Nona’s strong winds and rains were felt in Eastern Samar, prompting disaster workers to implement life-saving measures to prevent a repeat of the devastation left by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” in 2013.
“Nona’s strong winds even hit the OCD’s Operation Center in Catarman, Samar and there was zero visibility all over,” said Posadas.
Disaster officials said 161,014 families or 724,839 people were moved to higher ground in parts of Albay and Sorsogon in Region V, and Northern Samar in Region VIII, ahead of Nona’s arrival.
The pre-emptive evacuation started 7 p.m. Sunday in 112 barangays in Sorsogon with a total of 26,972 families or 134,870 people.
In Albay, a total of 133,905 families composed of 589,235 people were also moved to shelters.
Samar was among areas devastated in 2013 by Typhoon “Yolanda,” when giant waves wiped out entire communities, leaving 7,350 people dead or missing.
Authorities warned that Nona’s powerful winds had the potential to whip up four-meter high waves, blow off tin roofs and uproot trees while heavy rains within its 300-kilometer diameter could trigger floods and landslides.
Provincial and local government units in Eastern Visayas suspended classes at all levels.
In Albay province alone, almost 600,000 people were evacuated due to fears that heavy rains could cause mudslides on the slopes of nearby Mayon Volcano, according to the national disaster monitoring office.
Residents carrying bags of clothes and water jugs clambered onto army trucks in Albay’s Legazpi City, as authorities sounded an evacuation alarm, the French news agency AFP said. Huge waves crashed into the city’s deserted boulevard as palm trees swayed amid strong winds.
An additional 130,000 people were also evacuated in nearby Sorsogon. The latest typhoon is expected to cut across the country’s central heartlands in the early hours of Tuesday before heading out to the South China Sea in the west.
In Tacloban City, ground zero for Super Typhoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ two years ago, classes were suspended as Nona slammed into the northern part of Eastern Visayas.
Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez met with various department heads to discuss the city’s preparations.
At least 42 domestic flights were cancelled Monday because of the bad weather.
An advisory from the Manila International Airport Authority said these included Cebu Pacific flights to and from Tacloban, Manila and Legazpi City; Philippine Airlines (PAL Express) flights in Naga, Basco and Legazpi, and Zest Air flights in Manila and Tacloban.
Weather bureau officials said Nona made landfall over Batag Island, Northern Samar, at 11 a.m., then made its second landfall in Bulusan, Sorsogon at 5 p.m.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers an hour near its center, Nona had gusts of 185 kph. It was forecast to move west at 17 kph.
In Metro Manila, operations of the Pasig River Ferry System were suspended and billboard owners were told to roll up their tarpaulins to prevent road accidents.
The government had prepared more than 200,000 food packs and other emergency items ahead of the storm’s landfall, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman told DZMM radio.
The Philippines is battered by an average of 20 typhoons annually.
Typhoon “Lando,” the last deadly storm to hit the country, killed 54 people and forced tens of thousands others to flee their homes after it pummeled the northern Philippines in October.