SEOUL, November 18 (AJP) - Super typhoon Mayi hit the Philippines' eastern province of Catanduanes before moving to Luzon island on Sunday, bringing winds of up to 240 kilometers per hour, with over 750,000 residents evacuated from vulnerable areas, civil defense authorities reported.
Roberto Monterola, a disaster response official in Catanduanes, described the rain as light but said the winds were powerful, producing an eerie howling sound. Monterola also noted that storm surges, reaching more than 7 meters near coastal homes, were particularly frightening.
The storm, which knocked out power across Catanduanes and forced the closure of at least two international and 26 domestic airports, follows five previous typhoons - Jami, Kongrey, Inching, Doraji, and Usagi - that have struck the country since late October, killing at least 163 people through floods and landslides.
According to NASA, four typhoons were simultaneously active in the Western Pacific on Nov. 11, which the Japan Meteorological Agency noted as the first such occurrence in seven years and the first for November since record-keeping began in 1951.
Weather authorities forecast over 200mm of rain in Manila and other parts of Luzon over the next 24 hours, warning of potential floods and landslides. While the Philippines typically experiences about 20 typhoons annually, experts attribute the unusual frequency of recent storms to climate change, noting Southeast Asia's particular vulnerability to extreme weather events.
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