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Residents walk in a flooded street after Typhoon Hagupit made landfall, in Borongan city, Samar island, Philippines.(Photo: FRANCIS R. MALASIG, EPA)
At least two people were left dead Sunday, trees were mowed down and power knocked out in entire coastal provinces as Typhoon Hagupit lashed the Philippines.
Nearly 900,000 people fled to emergency shelters and to safer ground before the typhoon made its first landfall in the eastern Philippines late Saturday.
Hagupit, known locally as Ruby, slammed into Eastern Samar and other island provinces, before weakening Sunday, leaving no major destruction, the Associated Press said. The strong storm comes barely one year after Super Typhoon Haiyan ravaged the island nation.
Tacloban resident and entrepreneur Cathy Añover, 53, had her home destroyed and her business looted during Typhoon Haiyan.
She said on Sunday that although the winds and rains lasted 12 hours, there is little damage to the city.
Residents look at debris from destroyed houses in Tacloban, central Philippines.(Photo: MARLON TANO, AFP/Getty Images)
"There is debris all over- some metal sheets that flew around, damaged banana trees and a few homes destroyed – it looks like a storm came through but nothing compared to Haiyan," she said.
She said the storm hit Tacloban at 5 p.m. local time Saturday and did not leave the area until 5 a.m. on Sunday morning.
"It was taking too long to pass. You heard the wind noise and metal sheets flying for 12 hours – it was quite an ordeal. But I am thankful there was no surge and everyone is safe," she said.
Rhea Estuna, a 29-year-old mother of one, fled to central Tacloban city's evacuation center last week. When she looked outside Sunday, she said she saw a starkly different scene compared to the horror of Haiyan's aftermath.
"There were no bodies scattered on the road, no big mounds of debris," she told The Associated Press by cellphone. "Thanks to God this typhoon wasn't as violent."
Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said the organization was concerned about the possibility of landslides and floods.
"It's not a super typhoon in terms of wind but as rains are still coming and a slow moving typhoon means it will linger and there will be more rain," he said.
He said very little news has been received from the island of Samar, where Hagupit first made landfall.
"There is no power or communication so we are waiting to hear — I just hope it's not bad news," he said.
USA TODAY
Powerful typhoon slams into eastern Philippines
The country's weather agency says the typhoon, packing maximum sustained winds of 109 mph and gusts of 130 mph — equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane — hit in Dolores town in central Eastern Samar province Saturday.
The U.S. military's Joint Typhoon Warning Center rated it as a major Category 3 storm with 125 mph winds at landfall.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Council said 20 trucks were loaded with relief supplies which will be delivered once the roads have been declared passable.
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The military is now focusing efforts on clearing the debris-filled roads so the supplies and be delivered.
Many flights have been cancelled, leaving thousands stranded.
The government weather agency expects the typhoon's third landfall on Sibuyan island between 8 p.m and 10 p.m. local time on Sunday.
Hagupit is forecast to make at least six landfalls from Saturday night to Monday morning as it passes through the island nation, the Philippine weather service reported.
Residents run from strong waves at a coastal village in Legazpi city, Albay province, Philippines.(Photo: ZALRIAN Z. SAYAT, EPA)
Contributing: Associated Press
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