MANILA, NOV 8 – Authorities cleared fallen trees and debris in the northern Philippines today after Typhoon Yinxing moved out to sea, after battering the coast overnight, damaging roofs and forcing thousands of people to seek shelter.
Although nearly 30,000 people took shelter in government facilities before Yinxing hit, no casualties were reported from the typhoon, which came just two weeks after a major storm killed more than 150 people.
Yinxing’s 175-kilometer-per-hour winds toppled power poles, uprooted trees, and shattered windows as it hit the northern coast of the Philippines yesterday, according to the country’s weather agency, residents and rescue teams.
Officials reported 242.6 millimeters of rain in 24 hours.
“Many trees fell. There is also soil erosion in some areas. We are lucky that it didn’t become a big landslide,” said Cagayan regional disaster chief Rueli Rapsing, whose agency has so far reported no casualties.
In the province’s Pamplona municipality, strong winds blew roofs off houses and forced residents to seek shelter.
“The strong wind we experienced last night was the strongest I have ever felt in this city,” Patrick Maquiraya, 35, told AFP by phone. “The roof of the house being built in front of our house suddenly flew off.”
Maquiraya said that his friends who were sheltering in the gymnasium had to move to a nearby church after strong winds broke the glass windows of the building.
Live video viewed AFP yesterday showed strong winds blowing items off store shelves in the city of Santa Ana, where the hurricane made landfall.
As of 8 a.m. today, the center of Typhoon Yinxing is estimated to be northwest of Laoag city and move out into the South China Sea, according to the national weather agency. – AFP
