The super typhoon entered the Philippines and displaced 1 million people

MANILA, Philippines (AP) – A severe hurricane hit the eastern Philippines early Sunday morning and evacuated about a million people from its planned route, ordering the closure of a major international airport, including the capital.

“There are many areas that are really vulnerable,” said Ricardo Jalad, who heads the government’s disaster-response agency. “We expect big damage.”

Typhoon Connie blew at 225 kilometers (140 mph) and 280 km (174 mph) over the island province of Catanduwans at dawn – the equivalent of a Type 5 hurricane. It blows westward into densely populated areas, including Manila, where rain-soaked provinces have recovered from a hurricane a week ago, killing at least 22 people.

“Within the next 12 hours, there will be catastrophic violent winds and heavy rain associated with the hurricane’s eye wall and internal rain groups,” the Philippine Meteorological Agency said in an emergency consultation.

It said cadastre and four other provinces would be the first to be affected, as tens of thousands of villagers have been evacuated to safety, especially near the active Mayon volcano, as mudslides have died out during past storms. Residents have been warned of landslides, massive flooding, storms of more than 5 meters (16 feet) and strong winds that could blow down huts.

Connie, one of the most powerful hurricanes in the world this year, evoked memories of Hurricane Haiyan in November 2013, which killed and disappeared more than 7,300 people, flattened entire villages, wrecked ships inland and displaced more than 5 million in the central Philippines.

Nearly one million people have been relocated to emergency camps, mostly schools and government buildings, Jalad said. He warned of possible storm surges in coastal villages, including the Gulf of Manila.

Forecasters said the hurricane could hit or graze Manila, the capital region with a population of more than 13 million, from Sunday afternoon until early Monday morning. The hurricane could weaken significantly after hitting the Sierra Madre Mountains and then make landfall off the main north island of Lucerne, heading southwest.

Manila’s main airport was ordered to close for 24 hours from Sunday to Monday and airlines canceled dozens of international and domestic flights. The Army and National Police, along with the Coast Guard and firefighters have been placed on full alert.

Jalat said about 1,000 COVID-19 patients were transferred to hospitals and hotels from tent isolation and treatment centers in the capital and the northern province of Bulacan. More emergency camps will be opened than usual to avoid the congestion that triggers epidemics quickly.

Hurricane preparations such as the war will further deplete government resources, which have been drained for months by the corona virus outbreak, which prompted the government to set up isolation and treatment centers when hospitals are overcrowded and to help more than 20 million poor Philippine people.

The Philippines reported more than 380,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the second highest in Southeast Asia, with 7,221 deaths.

Jalad said displaced villagers would have to stay longer in evacuation centers after Connie left Tuesday due to another typhoon in the Pacific that could affect the Philippines in a few days.

The Philippines is hit by about 20 hurricanes and storms a year. It is located in what is known as the “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific, where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are the most active seismic activity around the Pacific region, making the impoverished Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 million people one of the worst disasters in the world.

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Associated Press journalists Aaron Favila and Joel Calupidon contributed to the report.