AFP via getty imagesA typhoon approaching the Philippines has been upgraded to Super Typhoon Status, with an outlying region of the island already experiencing life-threatening conditions”.
Typhoon Fung Wong will bring sustained winds of 185 km/H (155MPH) and heavy rain in many areas on Sunday, according to the country’s meteorological service (PAGASA).
Catanduanes, an island off the coast of Luzon, was the first part of the Philippines to be directly hit by the typhoon Sunday morning.
Typhoon Fung Wong – Known as Rain – comes days after an earlier typhoon, Kalmamaegi, left a trail of destruction and nearly 200 dead.
Many schools canceled classes on Monday or moved them online, while Philippine airlines got many local flights ahead of their arrival.
Typhoon Fung Wong is expected to weaken once it makes landfall but will likely remain a typhoon as it travels over Luzon.
Eastern parts of the Philippines have started experiencing heavy rains and winds, a PAGASA official said in a briefing on Saturday evening.
While most of the country is expected to be affected, there are particular concerns about areas that could be a direct hit, including Catanduanes.
Residents there, as well as other low-lying and coastal areas, were urged to move to higher ground on Sunday morning.
Typhoon Fung Wong also forced the suspension of rescue operations following the passage of Kalmaegi, one of the strongest typhoons this year.
The heavy rains sent streams of mud down the hills and into residential areas. Some of the poorest neighborhoods were lost in the fast-moving floods.
At least 204 people are now known to have died in the Philippines due to the first typhoon, while more than 100 are still missing.
Five people were also killed in Vietnam, where strong winds toppled trees, ripped off roofs, and smashed large windows.
The Philippine government has declared a state of emergency across the country following Typhoon Kalmaegi and to prepare for the upcoming typhoon.
It gives government agencies more power to access emergency funds and leverage to procure and deliver essential goods and services to those in need.
For some Filipinos, the devastation wrought by typhoon Kalmaegi earlier this week has left them even more worried about the coming typhoon.
“We decided to evacuate because the new typhoon brought floods to our area, and now I want my family to be safe,” Norliko Dagan told AFP News Agency.
He was one of the people who protected a church in the town of Sorsogon in Luzon.
Another resident, Maxine Dugan said: “I’m here because the waves near my house are now huge, I live near the shore. The winds there are now very strong, and the waves are huge.”
The Philippines is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to tropical cycles, due to its location in the Pacific Ocean where weather systems.
Nearly 20 tropical cyclones form in that region every year, half of which affect the country directly.
Climate change is not thought to increase the number of hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones around the world.
However, warmer oceans combined with a warmer environment – fueled by climate change – have the potential to make things worse. That could bring higher wind speeds, heavier rain, and a greater risk of coastal flooding.