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A severe tropical storm battered the Philippines on Friday, prompting the evacuation of nearly 400,000 residents and resulting in at least three fatalities. The country continues to face the ongoing impact of Super Typhoon Ragasa. In the southern Luzon Bicol region, officials reported three deaths caused by collapsing walls and uprooted trees as Storm Bualoi moved northwest at sustained speeds of 110 km/h.
During the storm, an evacuee took shelter under pews in a church after the roof was ripped off. “Around 4 a.m., the wind tore through the church’s door, windows, and roof,” said Jerome Martinez, a municipal engineer from Masbate province. He described it as one of the strongest winds he’s ever experienced, noting some children sustained minor injuries requiring stitches.
Many homes were destroyed or had their roofs blown away, leading to more evacuations as roads became blocked by fallen trees and debris. Bernardo Alejandro, a civil defense official, stated that evacuation orders have been issued to about 400,000 people. Rescuers in Masbate reported clearing large trees and damaged electric poles to make roads passable. “The rain was heavy, but the wind was even stronger,” an AFP correspondent quoted. Social media videos show people navigating flooded streets by boat or wading through water waist-deep in the central islands of Visayas.
The Philippines experiences roughly 20 storms and typhoons annually, which frequently maintain or worsen levels of poverty in disaster-prone areas. Climate scientists warn that global warming is increasing storm intensity. Authorities warned of a high risk of life-threatening storm surge of up to three meters (10 feet). Meanwhile, the population still dealing with the aftermath of Ragasa is displaced, with at least nine dead earlier this week after the typhoon struck the northern regions.
Public frustration is mounting over a scandal involving fraudulent flood-control projects believed to have cost billions of dollars, adding to a climate of distrust and anger toward government agencies.
In Taiwan, rescue teams combed through mud on Friday for 11 individuals reported missing after Super Typhoon Ragasa caused floods earlier this week. The flood death toll remained at 14. Heavy rains caused a barrier lake to overflow in Hualien County, releasing sludge that covered large parts of the area, complicating ongoing rescue efforts. Rescuers sometimes had to wade in mud up to their waists, cutting holes in building roofs to search for missing people.
One man, Hwang, is still searching for his sister’s body after she was unable to escape her house filled with mud. Many fatalities occurred on the ground floors of homes, especially among the elderly, who couldn’t evacuate upstairs as instructed.
88-year-old Huang Ju-hsing remains trapped in his home after floodwaters blocked access to his family’s grocery store on the ground level. His wife described how they urged him to move upstairs, which he managed to do, demonstrating the courage sparked by emergency situations.
Hualien, known for its natural beauty and tourism appeal, is rural and sparsely populated. The unresolved issue of the barrier lake, formed by earlier typhoons, persists—though it has shrunk to a fraction of its original size. The government has ruled out using explosives to breach the dam, fearing it could trigger landslides and worsen the situation. Despite the flooding, Taiwan’s vital semiconductor industry on the island’s west coast remains unaffected.
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