The super typhoon Rai forces the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in the Philippines.
Mindanao, Philippines – 195 kilometers per hour wind speed near the center of the super typhoon, gusts of up to 240 km / h: The Philippines is experiencing a storm of epic proportions. According to the national weather center PAGASA, Typhoon Rai first made landfall on Thursday (December 16, 2021) around 6.30 a.m. Central European Time (CET) on the island of Siargao in Surigao del Norte.
The authority warned in parts of the country of “very destructive winds with typhoon strength” as well as storm surges in coastal areas, floods and landslides in mountain areas along the route of the typhoon. The US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) declared Rai a super typhoon shortly afterwards.
The Philippines have been plagued by tropical cyclones for a long time. Rai is already the 15th typhoon to hit the country in 2021. According to official figures, around 100,000 people have now fled their homes. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies called the typhoon, known locally as Typhoon Odette, “one of the world’s strongest storms of 2021”. The NGO affirmed that “millions of people” are threatened by “destructive winds and flash floods”.
Super Typhoon Rai forces Philippines to mass evacuate
“Filipinos are tough, but this super typhoon is a severe blow to millions of people who are still recovering from last year’s devastating storms, floods and corona,” said Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross. According to the national civil protection agency NDRRMC, eight regions of the country have been rated at the highest level in terms of emergency preparedness and response protocol.
The eight regions of the central and southern archipelago in the areas of Visayas and Mindanao have a combined population of more than 30 million. The NDRRMC also warned of possible flooding and mudslides in the Mindanao provinces of Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga Del Norte during the day due to continued torrential rainfall. The heavy rain is expected to last three hours, added the authority.
The residents of the affected areas were encouraged to voluntarily evacuate if possible. Arvin Limare Bonbon, head of disaster management in Dipolog, told TV broadcaster Al Jazeera that “ongoing preventive and forced evacuation” is already underway in some areas of the coastal city with around 138,000 inhabitants. In some areas, including the central province of Cebu with a population of eight million, work was stopped on the orders of the authorities, and schools and universities switched their lessons to online courses.
Ship and air traffic in the Philippines paralyzed by super typhoon Rai
Shipping and air traffic are also affected by the effects of Typhoon Rai. Several flights, especially domestic flights, were canceled without replacement; the coast guard reported that all ships had been ordered into the ports and that around 4,000 passengers as well as ferry and cargo ship employees had been brought to safety.
A nationwide impaction against the coronavirus has been temporarily suspended. The local authorities now fear that the evacuations, together with the abrupt stop of the vaccination campaign, could lead to the corona infection situation in the country becoming significantly more dramatic. For example, in the emergency shelters in which many of the evacuees were housed, it was hardly possible to keep the required distances.
| country | Philippines |
| capital city | Manila |
| president | Rodrigo Duterte |
| population | 109.6 million (World Bank, 2020) |
| surface | 343,000 km² |
In the province of East Samar in the Visayas, Governor Ben Evardone told a local radio station that nearly 30,000 residents had been evacuated by Thursday morning. The provinces of East Samar and Leyte were among the areas most severely affected by super typhoon Haiyan in 2013, killing thousands. According to media reports, more than 17,000 people have also been evacuated in other parts of the eastern Visayas.
Government of the Philippines provides $ 6.6 billion for flood relief
In the province of Surigao del Norte in Mindanao, 51,000 residents have been evacuated so far, according to the local civil protection authority, and in Dinagat, Governor Arlene Bag-ao reported that almost 2,000 families had sought refuge in evacuation centers. The national civil protection agency put the number of people evacuated across the country by Thursday afternoon at 98,000.
As early as Wednesday afternoon, rescue workers evacuated 3,668 families in Tandag, a southern coastal town with more than 62,000 inhabitants, according to the local government, and the evacuees were housed in a total of 18 emergency shelters.
According to the civil protection agency NDRRMC, the Philippine central government has provided food and non-food supplies valued at around US $ 6.6 million to help those affected in their distress. The authorities can rely on their experience: The Philippines are hit by typhoons in double-digit numbers every year, with fatalities frequently occurring. (Mirko Schmid)
