More than 100,000 residents across eastern and northern Philippines have been evacuated as Super Typhoon Fung-wong, locally known as Uwan, intensified on Sunday, bringing the threat of torrential rains, destructive winds, and life-threatening storm surges to Luzon and nearby regions.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported that Fung-wong had strengthened into a super typhoon on Sunday morning, packing sustained winds of 185 km/h (115 mph) and gusts reaching 230 km/h (143 mph). The storm is expected to make landfall in Aurora province, central Luzon, on Sunday night at the earliest.
Authorities raised Signal No. 5, the highest storm alert level, over Catanduanes and coastal areas of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur, warning residents to brace for “very destructive typhoon-force winds.” Metro Manila and surrounding provinces remain under Signal No. 3, with heavy rainfall and strong gusts expected through Monday.
As of Sunday afternoon, more than 300 domestic and international flights had been canceled, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP). Major airlines warned that further disruptions were likely as the storm progresses.
Power outages were reported in several areas of Eastern Visayas, where strong winds and flooding have already started to affect coastal towns. The Philippine Coast Guard released images from Camarines Sur showing families boarding evacuation trucks after being ferried from small boats as part of preemptive operations.
Civil defense officials said evacuations were completed in high-risk coastal and low-lying areas before nightfall. “Residents must not wait until conditions worsen,” one emergency coordinator told reporters, stressing that rescue operations would be suspended once winds exceed safe limits.
Pagasa warned that storm surges could reach up to three meters (10 feet) in some coastal regions, and rainfall totals may exceed 200 millimeters in 24 hours, posing significant flooding and landslide risks.
Fung-wong’s arrival comes less than a week after Typhoon Kalmaegi devastated parts of the Philippines, killing 204 people before crossing into Vietnam, where it left five more dead and destroyed hundreds of lobster farms and fishing vessels along the coast.
In the Vietnamese village of Vung Cheo, local media showed fishing boats stacked in wreckage along flooded roads.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has placed national agencies on “full disaster response mode,” directing the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to distribute emergency supplies and deploy rescue teams to affected provinces. The Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police have also been mobilized for post-landfall relief and security operations.
Africa Digital News, New York
