Cyclone warning in the Philippines. More than 45,000 people fled their homes as “Super Typhoon” Rai approached. This extremely violent phenomenon, equivalent to a category 5 hurricane in the United States, made landfall this Thursday morning at 05:30 GMT in the central Philippines on the island of Siargao, the country’s Meteorological Agency announced.
“Destructive winds could cause moderate to severe damage to structures and vegetation,” the agency warned earlier citing winds of 165 km / h, which could reach 195 km / h. The Meteorological Agency also warned of potentially deadly flooding along the coastline.
Many refugee vacationers
Thousands of residents have evacuated to shelters. Among them: many vacationers who took advantage of the famous beaches and scuba diving spots in the region. Everyone was surprised by this particularly late typhoon in the season. Indeed, most tropical cyclones in the Pacific Ocean form between July and October.
Rai is expected to cross the Philippines from east to west in the coming days, passing over the islands of Mindanao and Palawan, before moving away over the South China Sea towards Vietnam.