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The island nation has been hit hard by Super Typhoon Fung-wong, which left a minimum of two fatalities and forced the evacuation of over a million residents.

Officials stated that the massive storm triggered extensive flash flooding, storm surges, landslides, and destructive gale-force winds, leading to the evacuation of 1.4 million people nationwide.

Widespread Destruction and Emergency Operations

In Pandan, Catanduanes, a severely affected area, emergency crews documented rising waters reaching the tops of houses and residences being swept away by strong flows.

“Our personnel rescued 14 individuals who were trapped on the roof engulfed in flood in a low-lying neighbourhood,” a disaster-mitigation officer explained. One resident also called in panic, saying his home’s roof was about to be ripped off due to the storm. We saved him and four relatives.”

By Monday, officials confirmed two fatalities: one from drowning in Catanduanes and another who died when her house collapsed in eastern Samar.

Typhoon Strength and Forecast

The super typhoon weakened to a severe tropical storm on Monday morning while moving over the Philippines’ largest island, where the capital is located.

According to the state weather service, the storm’s sustained wind speed dropped from 115 mph to 102 mph, though wind bursts peaked at over 170 mph.

The storm system is expected to lose strength while heading north toward Taiwan.

Response and Recovery

The national disaster response service indicated efforts were ongoing to assess damage to infrastructure and homes.

Roughly thousands of shelters were activated to accommodate tens of thousands of households.

Previous Storms and Environmental Factors

The typhoon hit shortly following Typhoon Kalmaegi, which killed hundreds of lives and left dozens unaccounted for prior to advancing toward Vietnam, where it killed five.

Search operations for those still missing had to be suspended on Sunday due to safety concerns for rescue workers.

Global warming is causing cyclones stronger and frequent. This typhoon marks the 21st typhoon to impact the nation in 2025.

Researchers have found that the frequency of super-typhoons hitting the Philippines has increased doubled over the last two decades.

International estimates indicate that intense storms cause an average of US$3.5 million in losses for the Philippines every year.

The Philippine president declared a state of emergency last week due to the severe damage from the prior typhoon and anticipated impacts from Fung-wong.