Strongest storm of 2020 kills at least ten: Super-typhoon with 174mph winds batters Philippines bringing mudflows that have engulfed dozens of homes
At least ten people have died as a devastating super typhoon has wreaked havoc in the Philippines, bringing 174 mile-per-hour winds triggering volcanic mudflows that engulfed some 150 houses.
Typhoon Goni - one of the most powerful typhoons in the world this year - blasted into the eastern island province of Catanduanes at dawn with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, threatening some provinces still recovering from a deadly typhoon that hit a week ago.
Goni - which brought severe gusts of 174 miles per hour at its most extreme - barreled through densely populated regions and threatened to sideswipe Manila, which shut down its main airport in response.
But the typhoon shifted southward on Sunday night and spared the capital, the government's weather agency said.
At least nine people were killed in the hard-hit province of Albay, including a father and son.
At least ten people have died as a devastating super typhoon has wreaked havoc in the Philippines, bringing 174 mile-per-hour winds triggering volcanic mudflows that engulfed some 150 houses. Pictured: A rescue worker in Manila
A house was completely submerged in mud as Typhoon Goni wreaked havoc in San Francisco, Guinobatan, in Albay province
A resident inspects a truck that had overturned at the height of super Typhoon Goni after it hit Tabaco in Albay province
Residents stand next to cars damaged after a gymnasium collapsed when super Typhoon Goni struck in Tabaco in the Philippines
Typhoon Goni was one of the most powerful typhoons in the world this year. Pictured: A house is submurged in mud in San Francisco, Guinobatan
Motorists make their way through boulders washed from nearby Mayon volcano along a damaged road after super Typhoon Goni hit the town of Malilipot
Goni blasted into the eastern island province of Catanduanes at dawn with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour, threatening some provinces still recovering from a deadly typhoon that hit a week ago. Pictured: Goni ripped the roof off a church in Tabaco
Villagers fled to safety as the typhoon approached, but the two apparently stayed put in the community in Guinobatan town where about 150 houses were inundated by volcanic mudflow.
'The child was found 15 kilometers (9 miles) away,' Albay Governor Al Francis Bichara told a local radio station, adding that the boy was swept away by mudflows and found in the next town.
He did not say whether there were any other residents trapped by the rampaging mudflows in the community and added that communications were down.
The Office of Civil Defense reported that three Guinobatan residents were missing, but it was not immediately clear if they were from the mudflow-hit community.
The other deaths in Albay included a villager who was pinned by a fallen tree. One person was killed in Catanduanes province.
Ricardo Jalad - who heads the government's disaster-response agency - had feared that the typhoon could wreak major damage due to its enormous force.
A man looks at his house buried under the pile of rubble and sand following flash floods brought by Typhoon Goni in Barangay Busay
A villager holding a dog wades along a flooded road in the typhoon-hit town of Nabua, Camarines Sur, after the typhoon hit
Villagers wade along a flooded road in the typhoon-hit town of Nabua, Camarines Sur, in the Philippines after the typhoon hit
Locals sell food along a flooded road in the typhoon-hit town of Nabua, Camarines Sur. Goni brought severe gusts of 174 miles per hour at its most extreme
The typhoon barreled through densely populated regions and threatened to sideswipe Manila, which shut down its main airport in response. Pictured: A man gets caught in the rain in Atimonan
A child has their temperature checked inside a modular tent - which was set up for typhoon evacuees - at a gymnasium which has been turned into an evacuation center, in Quezon City
Modular tents are set up for typhoon evacuees at a gymnasium in Manila. At least nine people were killed in the hard-hit province of Albay, including a father and son
A local collects house materials in the typhoon-hit town of De Ocampo, Camarines Sur. The Office of Civil Defense reported that three Guinobatan residents were missing, but it was not immediately clear if they were from the mudflow-hit community
The Philippine weather agency reinforced those concerns, saying that within 12 hours after the typhoon's landfall, people could face 'catastrophic, violent winds and intense to torrential rainfall'.
Residents were warned of possible landslides, massive flooding, storm surges of up to 5 meters (16 feet) and powerful winds that can blow away shanties.
But after hitting a mountain range and repeatedly slamming into coastal provinces, the typhoon gradually weakened, although it remained potentially deadly as it blew out into the South China Sea, forecasters said.
Goni evoked memories of Typhoon Haiyan, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing, flattened entire villages, swept ships inland and displaced more than 5 million in the central Philippines in November 2013.
Manila's main airport was ordered shut down for 24 hours from Sunday to Monday, and airlines canceled dozens of international and domestic flights.
Locals, wearing face masks and face shields to protect against Covid-19, evacuate on a motorcycle before Typhoon Goni hits on November 1
Government workers clear a toppled electric post in the typhoon-hit town of Tigaon, Camarines Sur, after the typhoon hit
A rescue worker covers a child in a raincoat as they evacuate before Typhoon Goni hits in Manila on Sunday
Residents with their belongings walk to a waiting rescue vehicle during an evacuation of people living along coastal areas in Manila
Locals use plastic sheeting to take cover from the rain as they wait to be evacuated before Typhoon Goni hits the area
Locals ride a rescue truck as they evacuate before super Typhoon Goni hits on November 1 in Manila
Commuter train services were also suspended and a no-sail policy restriction was imposed by the coast guard due to initial fear over the typhoon's threatening power.
The military and national police, along with the coast guard, were put on full alert. Jalad said nearly a million people were preemptively moved into emergency shelters.
In a Manila gymnasium that was turned into an emergency shelter, Covid-19 outbreaks were an added worry of displaced residents.
The Philippines has had more than 383,000 cases of the virus, the second-most in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia.
'We are scared - our fears are doubled,' said Jaqueline Almocera, a 44-year-old street vendor who took cover at the shelter.
The Philippines is lashed by about 20 typhoons and storms each year.
It's also located on the so-called Pacific 'Ring of Fire,' where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.
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