Typhoon Rammasun strengthened overnight, leaving at least one person dead and knocking out power in many areas, but its fierce wind shifted slightly today to spare the Philippine capital, Manila, and densely populated northern provinces from being directly pummeled, officials said.
Still, the typhoon's 150-kilometer wind and blinding 185-kph gusts, brought down trees, electric posts and ripped off roofs across the capital of 12 million people where government offices and schools were closed. While there have been no reports of massive damages and flooding, officials warned the public the danger wasn't over.
"We're telling the people this is not a time to act like toughies because it's still dangerous. There could be storm surges," Alexander Pama, executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council, told reporters.
A woman died after being hit by a fallen electric post in Northern Samar and two men were electrocuted but survived in Camarines Sur. Three fishermen have been reported missing in Catanduanes. The three provinces were lashed by Rammasun after it made landfall in Albay province late yesterday.
Instead of slamming into Manila, the typhoon veered slightly westward and struck Cavite province just south of the capital and was barreling toward the Bataan Peninsula at mid-morning and was expected to blow toward the South China Sea. But Rammasun's 500-kilometer wide band of wind and rain still hammered a wide swathe of the capital and northern agricultural provinces, government weather forecasters said.
There were no immediate damage estimates, especially in communities that lost power and telephone connections while being pummeled by the wind and rain.
With last year's massive devastation and deaths from Typhoon Haiyan still in many people's mind, nearly 150,000 people fled from high-risk communities into emergency shelters, officials.
Polangui Mayor Cherilie Mella Sampal said 10,000 of the 80,000 residents in her town in Albay, about 340 kilometers southeast of Manila, were evacuated before the typhoon struck yesterday. Sampal said she saw the wind topple electric posts and lift roofs off houses.
Sampal said residents were worried after witnessing Haiyan's horrific aftermath in the central Philippines last November.
