Typhoon hits isolation facilities in Philippines

Typhoon Vongfong's ferocious wind and rain left at least one dead and damaged hundreds of coronavirus isolation facilities and homes, along with rice and corn fields in five hard-hit eastern towns alone, a governor said Friday.

Governor Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar province, where the typhoon slammed ashore, said some residents were weeping in desperation after their houses were destroyed or blown away in the towns he inspected.

One distraught villager who lost his home slashed his wrist but was treated in time, he said.

In the outlying region of Bicol, northwest of Eastern Samar, more than 145,000 people were riding out the weakening typhoon in emergency shelters on Friday after a mass evacuation that was complicated and slowed by the coronavirus.

Vongfong weakened into a severe tropical storm after hitting land Thursday and was blowing northwest toward the populous main northern island of Luzon, government forecasters said.

The typhoon's maximum sustained wind speed dropped to 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour with gusts of 150 kph (93 mph) but it remains dangerous especially in coastal and low-lying villages, forecasters said.

Vongfong was expected to blow out of the country's north on Sunday.

Office of Civil Defense Director Claudio Yucot said the evacuations took time because workers needed to wear masks and protective suits and could not transport villagers to shelters in large numbers as a safeguard against COVID-19.

The Philippines has reported 12,091 infections, including 806 deaths, among the highest in Southeast Asia.