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With the help of the Coast Guard, people in the east of the Philippines are getting to safety
Photo:
AP
Typhoon "Goni" has not yet reached the country in the Philippines.
But thousands of people are already fleeing the storm.
The news agencies Reuters and AFP unanimously report even a million people who get to safety.
The tropical storm is currently moving towards the east coast of the island state with gusts of wind of up to 265 kilometers per hour, the weather service said.
Meteorologists are warning of violent winds, heavy rains and storm surges in the eastern provinces of Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte and Quezon.
Shipping has already been stopped.
"The strength of this typhoon is no joke," said a spokesman for civil defense in the Bicol region.
It is the strongest typhoon that has been heading for the Philippines since cyclone "Haiyan" in November 2013.
At that time more than 6300 people died and more than four million people lost their homes.
"Goni" - also called "Rolly" in the Philippines - is expected to hit land on Sunday evening (local time).
While it is likely to weaken a bit, it could still become one of the strongest typhoons of the season.
"Goni" will probably also devastate areas that have not yet recovered from the force of typhoon "Molave".
Last week this had killed 23 people and almost 800,000 residents had to leave their homes.
"We're having a hard time with Covid-19, and then there's another disaster," Senator Christopher Go said at a press conference.
The Philippines is hit by several typhoons each year, with most storms developing between May and October.
Such cyclones - known as hurricanes in other regions of the world - occur under certain conditions.
If there is a windless low pressure area above the sea and the water is warmer than 26 degrees Celsius, evaporated water rises.
When it condenses, it creates powerful cloud formations.
They soak up the water, creating a negative pressure that drives the storm.
As a result, more and more air flows upwards and is finally swirled around.
"Goni" even falls into the category of a super typhoon.
This is how storms are called from wind speeds of 241 kilometers per hour.
This corresponds to the fourth category on the five-point hurricane scale.
This year, nine typhoons have swept the region.
The hurricane season is also unusually violent and has already broken several records.
The list with the names given before the season has already been used up.
Most recently, hurricane "Zeta" swept across the southern United States and caused severe damage.
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joe / dpa / AFP / Reuters