Large waves break along a seawall ahead of the expected landfall of Super Typhoon Man-yi, in Legaspi City, Albay province on November 16, 2024. (Photo by CHARISM SAYAT / AFP)
Manila: Super Typhoon Man-yi battered the Philippines on Saturday, with the national weather forecaster warning of a "potentially catastrophic and life-threatening" impact as huge waves pounded the archipelago's coastline.
More than 650,000 people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi, which is the sixth major storm to hit the disaster-weary country in the past month.
Large waves break along a seawall ahead of the expected landfall of Super Typhoon Man-yi, in Legaspi City, Albay province on November 16, 2024. (Photo by CHARISM SAYAT / AFP)
Man-yi brought maximum wind speeds of 195 kilometres (121 miles) per hour as it made landfall on the sparsely populated island province of Catanduanes as a super typhoon, the weather service said, adding gusts were reaching 325 kilometres an hour.
"Potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation looms for northeastern Bicol region as Super Typhoon 'Pepito' further intensifies," the forecaster said hours before it made landfall, using the local name for the storm and referring to the southern part of the main island of Luzon.
Waves up to 14 metres (46 feet) high 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 over the next 48 hours, the forecaster said.
The weather forecaster said winds walloping Catanduanes and northeastern Camarines Sur province -- both in the typhoon-prone Bicol region -- posed an "extreme threat to life and property".
Power was shut down on Catanduanes ahead of the storm, with shelters and the command centre using generators for electricity.
"We're hearing sounds of things falling and things breaking while here at the evacuation centre," Catanduanes provincial disaster operations chief Roberto Monterola told AFP after Man-yi made landfall.
"We are unable to check what they are as the winds are too strong. They could be tree branches breaking off and falling on rooftops," Monterola said, adding there had been no reports of casualties.
This handout photo taken on November 16, 2024 and received through the courtesy of the Office of Ubaliw Village Polangui Facebook page shows residents sheltering inside a mall made as a temporary evacuation center in Polangui town, Albay province, south of Manila, ahead of Super Typhoon Man-yi's landfall. (Photo by Handout / Office of Ubaliw Village Polangui Facebook page / AFP)
At least 163 people died in the five storms that pounded the Philippines in recent weeks, leaving thousands homeless and wiping out crops and livestock.
Climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.
About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Southeast Asian nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people, but it is rare for multiple such weather events to take place in a small window.
