Initially expected in the afternoon, the typhoon touched land from Thursday morning on Siagao Island, in the center of the Philippines. Winds of up to 195 km / h were expected in the country, touched by twenty typhoons a year.
Le Monde with AFP
While the cyclone season is coming to an end, a “Supertyphon” named Rai touched land, Thursday, December 16, on the tourist island of Siagao, in the center of the Philippines, announced the Meteorological Agency of the Philippines . The latter reported winds of 165 km / h, which can further reinforce until 195 km / h. The typhoon should not touch land only in the afternoon, according to the first estimates of the meteorological agency.
“Destructive winds could cause moderate to serious damage to structures and vegetation,” warned the agency, which also warned against potentially murderer floods along the coast. According to the National Disaster Prevention Agency, more than 45,000 people, including many holidaymakers, have already left their homes to take refuge in shelters.
Rai is a particularly late typhoon in the season, most tropical cyclones in the Pacific Ocean forming between the months of July and October. It is a “supertyphon”, a cyclone whose extreme violence is similar to that of a Category 5. RAI hurricane should cross the Philippines from east to west in the coming days, passing on the islands of Mindanao and Palawan, before moving away above the Southern China Sea towards Vietnam.
The Philippines, considered as one of the most vulnerable countries to global warming, are struck every year by twenty typhoons that often destroy homes, harvests and infrastructure in already very poor regions.