(Corrects year of Haiyan to 2013 instead of 2014 in paragraph
2)
By Neil Jerome Morales
MANILA, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Philippine officials on Saturday
ordered evacuation of thousands of residents in the southern
part of the main Luzon island as a category 5 storm that is the
world's strongest this year approaches the Southeast Asian
nation.
Typhoon Goni, with 215 kph (133 miles) sustained winds and
gusts of up to 265 kph (164 mph), will make landfall on Sunday
as the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines since Haiyan
that killed more than 6,300 people in November 2013.
Pre-emptive evacuations have started in coastal and
landslide-prone communities in the provinces of Camarines Norte
and Camarines Sur, while Albay provincial government would order
residents in risky areas to leave their homes, Gremil Naz, a
local disaster official, told DZBB radio station. "The strength
of this typhoon is no joke."
Typhoon Molave last week killed 22 people, mostly through
drowning in provinces south of the capital Manila, which is also
in the projected path of Goni, the 18th tropical storm in the
country.
Authorities are facing another hurdle as social distancing
needs to be imposed in evacuation centres to prevent the spread
of coronavirus. The Philippines has the second highest COVID-19
infections and deaths in Southeast Asia, next only to Indonesia.
Relief goods, heavy machinery and personal protective
equipment are already positioned in key areas, Filipino Grace
America, mayor of Infanta town in Quezon province, told DZBB
radio. "But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, our funds for
calamity concerns and expenses are insufficient."
Local officials cancelled port operations and barred fishers
from setting sail.
Typhoon Goni, moving westward at 20 kph (12 mph) from the
Pacific Ocean, will bring intense rains over the capital and 14
provinces nearby on Saturday evening, and threats of floods and
landslides.
Another typhoon, Atsani, is gaining strength just outside
the Philippines. Around 20 typhoons hit the Philippines every
year.