About 725,000 people fled their homes and communities braced for coastal floods of up to 13 feet as Typhoon Melor slammed into the eastern Philippines on Monday, officials said. Forty domestic flights and 625 passenger and cargo ferry trips have been canceled, while Albay governor Joey Salceda stated, “The whole province is now a ghost town”.
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The bureau issued storm signal No. 3 in three northern and two central provinces for the typhoon, which is packing maximum winds of 155 kilometers (96 miles) per hour.
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In the meantime, areas of the central Philippines are exposed for Mellor Typhoon locally known as Nona, which led to heavy rains feared to cause floods and landslides.
Alexander Pama, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said typhoon Melor was expected to disrupt power and communications. Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated the city of Tacloban in November 2013, killing nearly 8,000 people.
A few more landfalls were expected as the typhoon passed over several small islands in the central Philippines, bringing up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rainfall. As with any tropical cyclone that batters the Philippines, rain should be plentiful, and with drainage scarce particularly in low-lying areas, expect flooding in some areas.
An average of 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every year.
The storm’s outer rain bands might hit the capital Manila, the place the second lowest in a 4-step storm warning system could also be raised Monday night time, state climate forecaster Robert Badrina advised AFP.
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The weather bureau is studying the link between the increasing strength of year-end storms and climate change, he said.
