A strong typhoon has slammed into the eastern Philippines after authorities moved tens of thousands of people while trying to avoid the virus risks of overcrowding emergency shelters.
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The first typhoon to hit the country this year rapidly gained force as it blew from the Pacific then barged ashore in San Policarpio town in Eastern Samar province about noon on Thursday, weather agency administrator Vicente Malano says.
The typhoon came as the Philippines is trying to fight COVID-19 outbreaks largely by locking Filipinos in their homes and prohibiting gatherings that can set off infections. More than 11,600 infections, including 772 deaths, have been reported in the country.
Typhoon Vongfong, which was packing maximum sustained winds of 150km/h and gusts of up to 185km/h, was forecast to blow northwesterly and barrel across densely populated eastern provinces and cities before exiting in the north on Sunday.
Overcrowding in emergency shelters is a common scene in the archipelagom which is hit by about 20 typhoons and storms annually.
Many officials faced a difficult dilemma on how to shield villagers from the double threats. Video showed fierce rain and wind swaying coconut trees, rattling tin roofs and obscuring visibility in Eastern Samar, where some towns lost power.
"This is very complicated," Mayor Benjamin Ver of a town in the typhoon's path told the Associated Press by telephone.
Far-flung Jipapad is prone to landslides and flooding. The town in Eastern Samar province is surrounded by mountains and planked by two rivers that often swell in storms. The only evacuation centres for its 8000 villagers are a gymnasium and the town hall.
Ver, who also is the town's only doctor, said he had secured enough face masks to protect villagers from the virus in the town hall when the typhoon hit.
Observing social distancing "is almost impossible" if all the villagers are cramped in the town hall but Ver said he would see what else could be done.
Provincial Governor Ben Evardone said Jipapad and the entire Eastern Samar remained free of coronavirus infections, unlike neighbouring regions.
All emergency shelters had been turned into quarantine facilities with medical equipment in case of outbreaks but may have to be rearranged back into evacuation centres if large numbers of people needed shelter, Evardone said.
Australian Associated Press
