Super Typhoon Man-yi has made landfall in the Philippines with the national weather forecaster warning of a “potentially catastrophic and life-threatening” impact, as waves up to 14 metres (46 feet) high pounded the coastline.
On Saturday, Man-yi was packing sustained wind speeds of 195 km/h (121 mph) when it slammed into Catanduanes island at 9:40pm (13:40 GMT), the forecaster said.
Waves 14 metres (46 feet) tall pummelled the shore of Catanduanes, while Manila and other vulnerable coastal regions were at risk from storm surges reaching up to more than three metres (10 feet) over the next 48 hours, the forecaster said.
Man-yi could hit Luzon – the country’s most populous island and economic engine – as a super typhoon or typhoon on Sunday afternoon, crossing north of Manila and sweeping over the South China Sea on Monday.
The Philippines ordered the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people and cancelled dozens of flights before the sixth storm in a month approached the archipelago.
All vessels – from fishing boats to oil tankers – were also ordered to stay in port or return to shore.
“If preemptive evacuation is required, let us do so and not wait for the hour of peril before evacuating or seeking help, because if we did that we will be putting in danger not only our lives but also those of our rescuers,” Interior Undersecretary Marlo Iringan said.
State weather agency PAGASA warned of a “potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation” for the central region of Bicol, where nearly 180,000 people have been evacuated.
Both Catanduanes and Camarines Sur provinces are still recovering from the deadly Tropical Storm Trami, which hit the country in late October.
The mayor of Naga city in Camarines Sur imposed a curfew from midday on Saturday in a bid to force residents indoors.
Civil defence administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr directed all government agencies “to prepare for the worst-case scenario” in areas where Man-yi is expected to hit.
In one evacuation centre in Catanduanes, more than 400 people were squeezed into the provincial government building in the capital, Virac, with new arrivals being sent to a gymnasium, provincial disaster officer Roberto Monterola told the AFP news agency.
Man-yi has already forced the cancellation of dozens of flights in the eastern Visayas region facing the Pacific Ocean.
The weather agency warned of dangerous storm surges that could exceed three metres (10 feet) in coastal areas of Luzon.
Torrential rains are expected in some provinces mainly in central Philippines.
About 20 tropical storms hit the Philippines each year on average, bringing heavy rain, strong winds and deadly landslides.
In October, floods and landslides brought by Tropical Storm Trami and Typhoon Kong-rey killed 162 people, with 22 others reported missing, government figures show.
Four storms, including Typhoon Usagi, churned in the western Pacific Ocean at the same time in November for the first time since records began in 1951, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
