Super Typhoon Fung-wong latest: Deadly storm slams into the Philippines with wind speeds up to 143mph

Super Typhoon Fung-wong, the biggest storm to threaten the Philippines this year, struck while the archipelago was still dealing with the devastation wrought by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which left at least 224 people dead in central island provinces on Tuesday before pummeling Vietnam, where at least five were killed.

The Philippines is battered by about 20 typhoons and storms each year. The country also is often hit by earthquakes and has more than a dozen active volcanoes, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

In Isabela in northern Luzon, dozens of families were sheltering in a basketball court repurposed as an evacuation centre.

The region has now been struck by the Typhoon, which is set to have devastating impacts.

“We heard on the news that the typhoon is very strong, so we evacuated early,” said Christopher Sanchez, 50, who fled with his family.

“We left our things on the roofs of our house since every time there’s a storm, we come here because we live right next to the river,” he told Reuters. “In previous storms, the floodwaters rose above human height.”

“We’re scared,” he said. “We’re here with our grandchildren and our kids. The whole family is in the evacuation area.”

Super Typhoon Fung-Wong has blown into Luzon, with PAGASA warning of “destructive Typhoon-force winds” in northern and central Luzon.

The storm is continuing to track west-northwest towards Aurora and the Polillo Islands, with “extreme impacts” expected.

There is a risk of coastal flooding and storm surges – a tsunami-like rising of sea levels due to wind and atmospheric pressure changes.

“There is a high risk of life-threatening and damaging storm surge with peak heights exceeding 3.0 m within the next 48 hours over the low-lying or exposed coastal communities of Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Bicol Region, most of MIMAROPA, Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Aklan, Antique, Guimaras, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Dinagat Islands, Siargao and Bucas Grande Islands, and most of Zamboanga Peninsula,” the agency said in a bulletin.

Before the Super Typhoon made landfall in the Phillipines, the massive storm had already caused severe damage.

This included the death of two people in the eastern provinces of the country.

One was a villager, who died drowned in flash floods in the eastern province of Catanduanes.

Another person died in Catbalogan city in eastern Samar province when she was hit by debris, officials said.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a state of emergency due to the extensive devastation caused by Kalmaegi and the expected calamity from Fung-wong.

The bands of Super Typhoon Fung-wong are already lashing the Philippines with heavy rain and wind gusts.

But with its 994-mile wide rain and wind band the storm could cover two-third of the archipelago.

Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has declared a state of emergency due to the extensive devastation caused by Kalmaegi and the expected calamity from Fung-wong, which is called Uwan in the Philippines.

Pope Leo has offered his support for people in the Phillipines shortly before Typhoon Fung-Wong slammed into eastern areas of the country on Sunday evening.

“I express my closeness to the people of the Philippines who have been hit by a violent typhoon: I pray for the deceased and their families, as well as for the injured and displaced,” the Pope wrote in a post on X.