Severe weather Philippines hit again by severe typhoon

The fifth typhoon in a month, "Usagi", has hit the Philippines, forcing thousands to evacuate. The repeated storms are causing considerable damage and threatening the food supply.

Typhoon "Usagi" has hit the Philippines with full force and is the fifth storm to hit the country in a month. With wind speeds of up to 175 kilometers per hour, it reached the coast of Baggao in the north of the island of Luzon on Thursday.

The national weather service warned of extreme rainfall and dangerous waves that could reach up to three meters in height. Considerable damage to buildings is feared in coastal areas. The civil defense in the province of Cagayan, where the typhoon made landfall, is planning to evacuate around 40,000 people.

Evacuations under difficult conditions

Despite the pouring rain, officials are trying to persuade residents to evacuate. "Yesterday we were still evacuating as a precaution. Now there are forced evacuations," explained an official shortly before the storm hit.

President Ferdinand Marcos appealed to the population to follow the evacuation instructions. "We know that it is difficult to leave your home and belongings, but evacuations can save lives," he emphasized. Marcos visited the affected regions to distribute emergency financial aid to victims of the recent storms.

Ongoing threat from storms

More than 5,000 people from the Cagayan region are still in emergency shelters as the Cagayan River has not yet receded. Tropical storm "Toraji" hit the country on Monday, and in recent weeks "Trami", "Kong-rey" and "Yinxing" have already claimed a total of 159 lives and caused massive destruction.

According to a United Nations report, 207,000 houses were damaged or destroyed and almost 700,000 people had to be evacuated. The destruction of thousands of hectares of farmland is delaying replanting and could jeopardize food supplies.

Climate change exacerbates the situation

The next storm, "Man-yi", is expected to hit the Philippines further south at the weekend. The storms are overlapping, giving the affected communities no time to recover, according to UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez.

Every year, the Philippines is hit by around 20 major storms, which claim numerous lives and plunge millions of people into poverty. Climate change is contributing to the fact that the storms are forming closer to the coasts, gaining in intensity more quickly and lingering longer over land.

SDA