Tens of thousands of people were being evacuated to safety in the southern and central Philippines today as a powerful typhoon approached and as authorities were warning the public to avoid crowds after the first infections caused by the Omicron strain of the coronavirus were reported in the country, officials said.
Forecasters said they last tracked Typhoon Rai, which has sustained winds of 185km/h and gusts of up to 230km/h, about 175km east of southern Surigao del Norte province. It was blowing northwestward at 25km/h. The typhoon, locally called Odette, was expected to slam into the Dinagat Islands in the country's southeast later today, forecasters said.
Several southern and central provinces were placed on typhoon alerts. Residents were warned to stay away from coastal and low-lying villages and other high-risk areas due to possible flash floods, landslides and tidal surges in or near the typhoon's path.
The Philippine coast guard said it has prohibited sea voyages in high-risk regions, stranding nearly 4,000 passengers and ferry and cargo ship workers in dozens of southern and central ports. Coast guard personnel and boats have been placed on stand-by in case of contingencies, it said. Dozens of mostly domestic flights have been cancelled.
Tens of thousands of villagers have been moved in advance to emergency shelters, including schools, gymnasiums and other government buildings in voluntary or forced evacuations, officials said. The evacuations were complicating government efforts to discourage crowds after health officials this week detected the Omicron variant in two travellers who arrived in the country from Japan and Nigeria.
