At least four people perished Sunday in the Philippines swept by Typhoon Goni, the most powerful of the year.
Authorities have reported "catastrophic" conditions in some areas, after evacuating more than 300,000 residents.
The storm made landfall on the island of Catanduanes on Sunday around 5 a.m. (11 p.m. in France on Saturday), accompanied by winds of 225 km / h and gusts measured at 310 km / h which tore roofs, trees and caused flash floods.
#Goni has created a landscape of devastation especially on the island of #Catanduanes (with gusty winds exceeding 300 km / h - no precise readings).
It weakens but continues its journey towards #Manila with gusts that can still exceed 200 km / h.
FD pic.twitter.com/n1sHF74ssy
- meteo60 (@ meteo60) November 1, 2020
Initially classified in the category of "super-typhoons", Goni was demoted while traveling on the island of Luzon towards Manila, according to the national meteorological agency.
"Winds of catastrophic violence and intense to torrential rains" are to be expected over the next 12 hours in the regions on the path of the typhoon, and in particular in the provinces near the capital, she warned on Saturday.
“The situation is particularly dangerous in these areas.
"
Super Typhoon #Goni is currently hitting the city of Naga, capital of Camarines Sur province, in the Philippines.
#RollyPH https://t.co/sQEneWZnBx
- ORSEC Plan (@planORSEC) November 1, 2020
Goni arrives a week after Molave, which affected the same region, killing 22 people and flooding a large agricultural region before continuing on its way to Vietnam.
345,000 people evacuated
The four victims identified so far, including a five-year-old child, were killed in the province of Albay, announced its governor Alfrancis Bichara on a local radio.
Two of the victims drowned, a third was swept away by a mudslide and the fourth was killed by a falling tree.
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Civil protection chief Ricardo Jalad said nearly 345,000 people were evacuated.
AFP / Ted ALJIBE
In Manila, residents of some slums in low-rise areas were evacuated due to the threat of flooding and the capital's airport was closed.
Several hundred people were stranded after the coast guard ordered ferries and fishing boats to stay at the dock, with waves reaching up to 16 meters high at sea.
Another typhoon in the making
Goni is expected to weaken "considerably" as it crosses Luzon before reaching the South China Sea on Monday morning, according to meteorological services.
But another typhoon is building up over the Pacific and is also expected to hit the archipelago.
The Philippines is affected by an average of twenty tropical storms and typhoons each year, which destroy crops, fragile homes and infrastructure, keeping entire populations in permanent poverty.
The worst in recent history was Super Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which killed more than 7,300 people, especially in the central town of Tacloban submerged by giant waves.