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Summary
Typhoon Megi cleared the Philippines' main island and headed towards China on Tuesday (October 19), and authorities said initial estimates showed the super storm had damaged around one percent of the country's unmilled rice crop. The eye of the storm hit Isabela province on Monday (October 18), cutting off power lines and damaging homes in largely rural villages. Felled trees, power lines and debris rendered many roads impassable, and some vehicles got stuck in mud. On Tuesday, soldiers joined residents in clearing fallen trees and patching up houses that had lost their roofing and walls. More thorough damage assessments were expected as local airlines resumed normal operations, but wide areas remained without phone and power services. Officials from the disaster agency were trying to reach east coast towns and villages, saying most houses appeared to have been destroyed after Megi hit land as a category 5 super typhoon with winds in excess of 250 kph (155 mph) on Monday. Officials estimated that the typhoon also affected 385,000 tonnes of rice crops, as it came at the peak of harvest season.The town of Ilagan in Isabela was one of the hardest hit, and water supplies ran low, prompting residents to queue for rations.The national disaster agency put the death toll so far at 10, a low tally for such a strong typhoon in the country.Benito Ramos, executive director of the national disaster agency, said three people drowned in Maconacon town, which was directly in Megi's path, when they were swept away by giant waves on Monday.Nearly 20 people were also injured, mostly by shattered glass panels, he said, adding that proactive evacuations of nearly 8,000 people had limited the loss of life.Officials had issued warnings as early as Thursday (October 14) and deployed rescue gear, rubber boats, ambulances, and relief items over the weekend.Benito said they were trying to reach coastal towns facing the Pacific, because there were reports that 90 percent of homes there were wiped out.
