Mass Evacuation in Philippines as Super Typhoon Nears

More than 900,000 people have been evacuated to safer areas ahead of Typhoon Phanfone's arrival in the Philippines.

sarah

Nov 9, 2025 - 19:01

Mass Evacuation in Philippines as Super Typhoon Nears

The storm, which is expected to make landfall on Sunday evening, has been upgraded to a super typhoon, with wind speeds reaching 185 km/h (115 mph) and gusts up to 230 km/h (143 mph).

The country's weather bureau warned of a "very high risk of life-threatening and damaging storm surges of more than 3m [10ft]" as the typhoon moves northwest towards Luzon, the Philippines' most populous island.

Phanfone – known locally as Ursula – comes just days after Typhoon Kammuri, which caused widespread destruction and killed nearly 200 people.

The eastern Bicol region was the first part of the Philippines to be directly hit by the typhoon on Sunday morning, before it passed over the Polillo Islands on Sunday afternoon.

Many schools have either cancelled classes or moved them online for Monday, while around 300 flights have been cancelled.

Phanfone is expected to weaken after making landfall somewhere between the Baler and Casiguran districts, but it is likely to remain a typhoon as it crosses Luzon.

More than 200mm of rain is forecast in parts of Luzon, with 100-200mm expected even in the Metro Manila area. This is expected to cause widespread flooding and landslides.

A weather official said on Saturday evening that heavy rain and strong winds had already begun in eastern parts of the Philippines. Although most parts of the country are expected to be affected, there are particular concerns about areas that could be directly hit, including Catanduanes, an island east of the Bicol region, where conditions were already very bad on Sunday morning.

Residents there, as well as those in other low-lying and coastal areas, had been urged to move to higher ground by Sunday morning.

In the Aurora region of eastern Luzon, 21-year-old Hagunoy, who works at one of the dozens of hotels along the coast in Sabang, recounted the situation.

He said police had been coming repeatedly over the past few days to ensure all guests were moved to safety before the storm. By Sunday morning, all the hotels were empty. As the water level rose rapidly, Hagunoy said he would stay to guard the property for as long as he could, and then ride his motorcycle home to a safer location.

Staff had locked the gates and tied down the windows with ropes to prevent the glass from shattering in the wind.