MASS EVACUATIONS UNDERWAY AS TROPICAL STORM FENGSHEN THREATENS PHILIPPINES

Sat 18 October 2025:

Thousands of residents have fled coastal areas of Catanduanes, a poverty-stricken island in the Philippines, as Tropical Storm Fengshen approaches, threatening heavy rainfall and flooding, according to rescue officials.

The storm, with gusts up to 80 km/h (50 mph), is expected to skirt the island of 270,000 later today, prompting warnings of coastal flooding from 1.2-meter (3.2-foot) waves, the national weather service reported.

Over 9,000 people have been evacuated to safer areas, with local authorities activating emergency plans for high-risk zones, including coastal communities and landslide-prone slopes, said Gerry Rubio, a provincial rescue official.

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The evacuations are a familiar routine for Catanduanes, often the first landmass hit by cyclones forming in the western Pacific.The Philippines, battered by around 20 storms and typhoons annually, faces heightened risks as climate change intensifies storm strength, scientists warn.

The Catanduanes provincial government ordered local officials to “activate their respective evacuation plans” for residents of “high-risk areas”, including the coast, low-lying communities and landslide-prone slopes, rescue official Gerry Rubio told the AFP news agency.

Fengshen arrives as the nation recovers from recent disasters, including a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in Cebu that killed 79 people earlier this month, followed by a magnitude 7.4 quake off the southern coast that claimed six lives and triggered tsunami alerts. In late September, Typhoon Ragasa killed several and displaced thousands in the northern Philippines.

Authorities urge residents to remain vigilant as the country braces for Fengshen’s impact.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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