An aerial view captures flooded homes and rice paddies in Buguey town, Cagayan province, following the onslaught of Typhoon Yinxing, locally known as Marce, in the northeastern Philippines. Photo: AFP
Thousands of communities were instructed to evacuate and ports were closed, officials announced on Monday, as the typhoon-battered Philippines faced yet another typhoon—the fourth in less than a month. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage as Typhoon Toraji made landfall near Dilasag town, approximately 220 kilometers (140 miles) northeast of Manila, according to the national weather agency. The government mandated the evacuation of 2,500 villages on Sunday, but the national disaster office could not confirm how many residents had sought refuge thus far. Toraji, with maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour, followed three cyclones in rapid succession that claimed 159 lives. Schools and government offices were closed in regions expected to bear the brunt of the latest typhoon. The national weather agency cautioned of strong winds and heavy rainfall across the northern regions, along with a 'moderate to high risk of storm surge'—large waves posing a threat to the coasts of Luzon, the main island. Nearly 700 passengers were stranded at ports, according to a coast guard report on Monday, with the weather service advising that 'sea travel is risky for all types or tonnage of vessels.' 'All mariners must remain in port or, if underway, seek shelter or safe harbor as soon as possible until winds and waves subside,' it added. Toraji was projected to traverse northern Luzon later Monday, with a tropical depression potentially impacting the region as early as Thursday night, weather forecaster Veronica Torres informed AFP. Tropical Storm Man-yi, currently east of Guam, may also pose a threat to the Philippines next week, she added. On Thursday, Typhoon Yinxing struck the northern coast, causing damage to houses and buildings. A 12-year-old girl was killed in one incident. Prior to that, Severe Tropical Storm Trami and Super Typhoon Kong-rey together resulted in 158 deaths, according to the national disaster agency, with most of the fatalities attributed to Trami. Approximately 20 major storms and typhoons strike the archipelago nation or its surrounding waters annually. A recent study revealed that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly, and persisting longer over land due to climate change.
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