Saturday, December 28, 2019
Typhoon Phanfone made landfall on the central Philippines from Tuesday night through to Wednesday, killing at least 20 according to Philippine officials on Thursday, and leaving reportedly at least 15,000 stranded at ports.
Phanfone impacted upon popular tourist attractions, such as Boracay and Coron, as well as the Kalibo International Airport. It also blocked roads and forced over 58,000 civilians to evacuate.
Phanfone damaged similar regions to Typhoon Haiyan, which killed over 6,000 people in 2013. Cindy Ferrer, head of a regional civil defense office, said “[Typhoon Phanfone is] like the younger sibling of Haiyan. It’s less destructive, but it followed a similar path”. Philippine Red Cross chair Richard Gordon, in remarks to the BBC, said “A lot of people have lost their homes and they need food”. He also said many areas lost water and power, and might not get them back for weeks.
Typhoon Phanfone continued westward on Thursday, toward the South China Sea and Asia.