In terms of strength, it is the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic. After making landfall, the Goni was lowered into a hurricane, with sustained winds slowing slightly to 215 km / h (140 mph).
Provincial Governor Francis Bechara said that there have been four deaths reported so far, including one in the shape of a tree and a five-year-old boy swept away by water after a river overflowed. The Disaster Management Agency was unable to confirm the report.
Video footage broadcast by news channels and on social media showed rivers flooding and demolishing some dams, which led to the inundation of villages in Bicol.
Philippine authorities have evacuated nearly a million people to safer land as Goni, known locally as Rolle, approached the eastern provinces. On a Sunday morning, it made landfall in Catanduanes and Alpay in the Bicol region.
The Met Office in the Philippines said that “catastrophic violent winds and torrential rains” are expected to prevail in the Bicol provinces and parts of Quezon, Laguna and Batangas south of the capital, Manila.
Metro Manila is currently on the projected path of Johnny, the country’s eighteenth tropical storm so far this year, as the Bureau of Meteorology forecast “heavy” rains and storm surges in the city.
Weather forecaster Lori Dela Cruz told a radio station that he was expected to hit Quezon territory third later in the day.
Alerts have been issued regarding the outbreak of storms, while officials have also reminded those in evacuation centers to monitor social distancing because the spread of the coronavirus is also a concern.
Dozens of international and domestic flights have been canceled as the Civil Aviation Authority ordered Manila’s main gateway, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, to be closed for one day.
Johnny is one of the strongest typhoons to hit the Philippines since Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,300 people in 2013.
Tropical Storm Atsane was still more than 1,200 km (745.6 miles) east of the Philippines at 7 pm ET on Saturday and much weaker than Goni, but Bajasa said it was likely to get stronger on Sunday and Monday.
