Typhoon Usagi made landfall in the Philippines on Friday, bringing severe weather to an archipelago already grappling with flooding and landslides that have resulted in hundreds of fatalities and displaced thousands since October.
According to rescue services, ten villages near Gonzaga on the northern coast have been inundated, prompting most residents to evacuate.
As the typhoon approached, approximately 5,000 residents were evacuated. By midday, the storm was moving toward southern Taiwan, where it is expected to weaken into a tropical storm.
Flood-related damages have also led to uprooted trees and significant destruction of a key bridge in Gonzaga, effectively isolating the coastal town of Santa Ana and its 36,000 residents.
In the wake of Usagi, Tropical Storm Man-yi is forecasted to make landfall on Sunday. The national meteorological service has warned that this will be the sixth weather event in less than a month, which could potentially impact the capital, Manila, or its neighboring regions.
The series of typhoons has claimed the lives of 159 individuals, and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has appealed for $32.9 million in assistance for 210,000 of the most affected survivors.
