Over 100,000 people have been evacuated as Super Typhoon Fung-wong barrels toward Luzon with 230 kph gusts, triggering the Philippines’ highest storm alert and threatening deadly storm surges, flash floods, and days of destruction.
The Philippines has begun one of its largest evacuations in recent years as Super Typhoon Fung-wong rapidly intensified on Sunday, forcing more than 100,000 people from their homes across eastern and northern regions. The storm, locally known as Uwan, is now classified as a super typhoon, carrying sustained winds of 185 kph and gusts of up to 230 kph as it moves toward Luzon. Authorities expect landfall in Aurora province by Sunday night, with the storm likely to bring torrential rainfall, destructive winds, landslides and coastal storm surges.
The country’s disaster management agency has issued multiple storm alert signals, with Signal No. 5 — the highest level — raised over southeastern Luzon, including Catanduanes and coastal areas of Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur. Metro Manila and nearby provinces remain under Signal No. 3, where authorities warn of power outages, flooded roads and roof-level wind damage. Early reports from Eastern Visayas confirm widespread power interruptions as the storm’s outer bands sweep across the region.
Footage released by the Philippine Coast Guard from Camarines Sur shows evacuees carrying belongings and boarding military trucks after travelling by passenger boats from low-lying islands. More than 300 domestic and international flights have already been cancelled, according to the Civil Aviation Authority, and airport terminals were filled with stranded passengers by mid-afternoon. A video from ABS-CBN News showed intense rainfall, uprooted branches and violent wind gusts in Catanduanes as the typhoon began its approach.
Fung-wong’s arrival comes less than a week after Typhoon Kalmaegi killed 204 people in the Philippines before crossing into Vietnam, where five more fatalities were recorded and hundreds of coastal fishing communities destroyed. In the Vietnamese village of Vung Cheo, fishing boats were seen piled on roadsides like wreckage, and lobster farms were washed away — scenes officials fear may soon be echoed in the Philippines’ eastern coastline.
Disaster response teams in the Philippines have been placed on full alert, with military assets deployed for rescue operations and relief positioning. Officials warn that storm surges may reach four metres in some coastal towns, while rainfall could exceed 300 mm in mountainous areas, raising the risk of deadly landslides.
Fung-wong is expected to weaken slightly after landfall but may continue to dump heavy rain across Luzon for 48 hours, prompting fears of secondary flooding in Metro Manila and Central Luzon river basins.
