MANILA – Storm Yagi killed at least 13 people in the Philippines and forced thousands of people to flee to safer ground, and is now slowly heading for mainland China with high winds and squally rains.
Schools and government offices in Manila and nearby provinces remain shut for a second straight day on Sept 3. But foreign-currency trading that was suspended on Sept 2 resumed. Stock trading has been uninterrupted.
At least seven people died in Antipolo City, east of Metro Manila, as rains triggered landslides, according to a police report. Four others were reported killed in the Bicol region and central Visayas because of drowning or electrocution, authorities said.
One person died in central Visayas and another in Pililla town in Rizal province.
Rescuers are searching for four people believed to have been swept away by floods in Antipolo, the state-owned People’s Television Network said on X.
The tropical cyclone is unlikely to come within 600km of Hong Kong, but the city’s Observatory said it will issue the Standby Signal No. 1 between 5pm and 8pm on Sept 3.
The storm is moving westward at 25kmh, packing maximum winds of 85kmh and gusts up to 105kmh, according to Pagasa. It expects Yagi to reach typhoon category on Sept 5 and peak intensity by late Sept 6 or early on Sept 7 before making landfall in China. Hainan island and Vietnam are along Yagi’s path, according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre.
The disruptions in the Philippines come barely a week after heavy monsoon rains flooded parts of Metro Manila and other areas of the country. In July, more than 30 people died as Typhoon Gaemi brought floods and landslides.
The orange rainfall warning, the second highest in a three-level alert system, is hoisted in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The South-east Asian nation is one of the most natural disaster-prone countries in the world, where about 20 cyclones pass through each year, causing deaths and damage to agriculture, homes and infrastructure.
In 2013, Super Typhoon Haiyan killed more than 6,300 in the Philippines. BLOOMBERG
