MANILA: Philippine authorities evacuated more than 430,000 people and confirmed at least four deaths on Friday as a severe storm — the third tropical cyclone to hit this month — battered the country.
Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi, which weakened after striking eastern Philippines overnight, followed last week’s Tropical Storm Mitag and Super Typhoon Ragasa, the strongest of the year so far, that descended on the northern Philippines on Monday with destructive winds and torrential rain.
“As of this morning, around 120,888 families or close to 433,000 persons have been preemptively evacuated,” Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, deputy administrator at the Office of Civil Defense, said during a news briefing.
Filipinos were evacuated to emergency shelters as the storm intensified into a typhoon before hitting land late on Thursday, first striking Eastern Samar in eastern Philippines before crossing into the island province of Masbate and sweeping through the Bicol region in southern Luzon.
Around 52,000 personnel are on standby for disaster-response operations, Alejandro said.
“As for the immediate impact of the typhoon, there are four confirmed casualties,” said Claudio Yucot, OCD director in the typhoon-prone Bicol region.
In a media briefing, Masbate Gov. Richard Kho appealed for immediate assistance from the central government, saying that most of the island’s roads were impassable.
“We have 6,680 families, or an estimated 21,861 individuals affected by the typhoon,” he said.
“Right now, what we really need is help with clearing operations because most of our road networks are impassable. Goods, food packs, even health services can’t get through … Another big problem is our electricity, because many power poles are down.”
Bualoi, which is locally named Opong, was the 15th tropical cyclone to hit the Philippines in 2025.
Each year, the Southeast Asian country experiences around 20 tropical storms and typhoons, impacting millions of people as weather patterns become increasingly unpredictable and extreme due to climate change.
It is considered the country most at risk from natural disasters, according to the 2024 World Risk Report.
