Manila: Philippine authorities evacuated more than 150,000 people Monday from coastal areas expected to be affected by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which is approaching the Visayas archipelago with winds reaching speeds of up to 140 kilometers per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
According to Qatar News Agency, Rafaelito Alejandro, deputy director of the Office of Civil Defense, said that the evacuations of up to 156,000 people were carried out as a precaution. Alejandro added at a press conference that the storm is expected to make landfall after midnight local time.
Earlier, Roel Munisa, head of the disaster management agency, noted that evacuations had taken place in the Palu and Tanawan regions, which have a combined population of about 140,000. These two regions were previously devastated by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which killed at least 6,000 people.
The Philippines is hit or affected by approximately 20 typhoons and storms annually, with the poorest areas of the country often bearing the brunt of the damage.