Manila, Dec 16, (dpa/GNA) – Typhoon Rai on Thursday lashed the eastern and southern Philippines with intense rains and fierce winds, forcing more than 98,000 people to flee their homes, disaster officials said.
Rai slammed into the country’s east coast with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (kph) and gusts of up to 240 kph, the weather bureau said.
The typhoon made landfall in Siargao Island, about 760 kilometers south-east of Manila, known as the surfing capital of the Philippines.
The national disaster agency said there were no immediate reports of casualties from Rai, but noted that it had received reports of search and rescue operations from floods and landslides in the affected areas.
At least 98,091 people have been pre-emptively evacuated, and the number was expected to increase as local governments order more evacuations, the agency said.
At least two municipalities in the eastern Philippines have reported power outage, it added.
Footage on social media, showed toppled trees blocking roads and emergency teams rescuing people in a flood area in the southern Philippines.
The weather bureau said Rai was moving west-north-west at 30 kph.
The typhoon “may see some slight weakening as it crosses north-eastern Mindanao, Visayas, and Palawan, but it is forecast to remain as a typhoon,” the weather bureau said.
“Re-intensification is likely once (Rai) emerges over the West Philippine Sea,” it added.
More than 20 provinces and areas have been placed under a storm warning.
Sea travel has been suspended in the affected areas, leaving 4,358 passengers stranded in nearly 60 seaports in central, eastern and southern provinces.
The Philippine archipelago is hit by an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year.
The strongest typhoon ever to hit the Philippines was Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people and displaced more than 4 million in November 2013.
GNA