1.2m flee as typhoon batters Philippines

Super Typhoon Man-yi pummelled the Philippines’ most populous island on Sunday, with the national weather service warning of flooding, landslides and huge waves as the storm sweeps across the archipelago nation.

Man-yi was still packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kph, with gusts reaching 305 kph, after making its first landfall late Saturday on the lightly populated Catanduanes island.

More than 1.2 million people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi, including several thousand in the capital Manila, as the weather forecaster warned of a “life-threatening” impact from the powerful storm, which follows an unusual streak of violent weather.

Man-yi uprooted trees, brought down power lines and smashed flimsy houses to pieces after hitting Catanduanes in the typhoon-prone Bicol region.

No deaths have been reported, but there was “extensive” damage to structures on Catanduanes, civil defence chief Ariel Nepomuceno said.

Man-yi remained a super typhoon as it hit heavily populated Luzon -- the country’s economic engine -- forecasters said, warning of a “potentially dangerous” situation in Aurora province.

“I saw roofing sheets flying off the houses around our building. Branches were being torn off trees,” said Julius Fabianes, a rescuer with the Aurora disaster agency in Baler town.

The weather service forecast “significant weakening” as Man-yi traversed the mountainous island.

But it said severe flooding and landslides were expected as Man-yi dumped “intense to torrential” rain over provinces in its path.

Forecasters also warned storm surges reaching more than three metres could swamp vulnerable coastal communities, including in Manila.

Panganiban municipality in the northeast of Catanduanes took a direct hit from Man-yi.

Photos and a drone video shared on the Facebook page of Mayor Cesar Robles showed fallen power lines, damaged and destroyed buildings, and trees and corrugated iron sheets strewn on the roads.

“Pepito was so strong, I have never experienced a typhoon this strong,” Robles said in a post, using the local name for Man-yi, as clean-up efforts got underway and people returned home.

Mother-of-three Marissa Cueva Alejandro, 36, who grew up in Catanduanes and sheltered with a relative during Man-yi, said typhoons were getting stronger.

Agence France-Presse