The Philippines is on alert. A storm intensified this Saturday to become a cyclone then a “super typhoon” heading towards the archipelago, announces the local meteorological agency. It warns of strong winds and “potentially deadly” storm surges. A “super typhoon” corresponds to the highest categories of the Saffir-Simpson scalewhich classifies cyclones according to their intensity.
A storm surge is the rise in sea level during a cyclone, causing flooding. Waves up to 14 m high are expected around the island of Catanduanes, in the east of the archipelago, where Man-yi is expected to make landfall first.
“A potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation looms in the northeastern Bicol region as super typhoon Pepito further intensifies,” the weather agency said in its latest update, using the storm’s local name and referring to the southern part of the main island of Luzon. This satellite animation allows you to visualize the meteorological monster as it approaches the Philippines at daybreak.
The atmospheric and wind conditions remain favorable for a strengthening or at least maintenance of the current intensity of the cyclone. This situation will last until this Saturday evening, Paris time, or during the night of this Saturday to Sunday in the Philippines.
The sixth storm in a month
The authorities have also ordered the evacuation of more than 250,000 people and the return of boats to the dock as they approach Man-yi. “If a preventive evacuation is necessary, let us implement it and not wait for the hour of danger to evacuate or seek help, because (…) we would endanger not only our lives, but also those of our first responders,” Interior Undersecretary Marlo Iringan said.
This “super typhoon”, with winds of up to 215 km/h, will be the sixth major storm to hit the Philippines in a month. Previous attacks have killed at least 163 people, left thousands homeless, destroyed crops and killed livestock. This week, the north of the country was hit by another typhoon, Usagi. Floods hit ten villages. At least 5,000 residents were evacuated as it approached.
“We rescued a number of people who refused to go to shelters and became trapped on their roofs,” said Edward Gaspar, local disaster manager. Farms and livestock were not spared. “The losses were enormous. » Usagi is expected to hit southern Taiwan this Saturday, with less power, that of a tropical storm.*
China could be reached
After hitting the Philippines, Man-yi is expected to head towards southeastern China. This map which is read from east to west and provided by the US Navyin charge of monitoring cyclones in this part of the world, shows the forecast course in the coming days. The typhoon would pass off the coast of China late this weekend and early this week, quickly weakening to the level of a storm and then a depression.
Scientists claim that climate change increases the intensity of storms, causing more heavy rain, flash flooding and more violent gusts. Every year, around 20 major storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters, killing dozens of people. But it is rare for several weather events of this type to occur within a short period of time.