TYPHOON Ofel (international name: Usagi) slammed into the country's already disaster-ravaged north on Thursday, as authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of people from coastal areas.
Ofel made landfall in the town of Baggao in Cagayan province at 1:30 p.m. with winds of 175 kilometers an hour, the national weather service said — the fifth storm to strike the country in just three weeks.
TO SAFETY This handout photo taken on Nov. 14, 2024 and released by Buguey Municipal Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Office via Cagayan Provincial Public
Information Office shows a rescuer carrying a young resident during a forced evacuation operation in Buguey town, Cagayan province, ahead of Super Typhoon Ofel’s landfall.
AFP PHOTO/BUGUEY MUNICIPAL DISASTER RISK AND REDUCTION MANAGEMENT OFFICE VIA CAGAYAN PROVINCIAL PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE