Super Typhoon Ragasa aftermath: Bualoi storm wrecks havoc on Philippines; 4 dead, 400,000 evacuated

At least 4 were reported dead in Philippines as severe tropical storm Bualoi battered parts of the country on Friday. The authorities evacuated nearly 400,000 residents. The country is still reeling under the destruction caused by super typhoon Ragasa, and is struggling to recover from its woeful aftermath.Officials told Bualoi swept across southern Luzon’s Bicol region with winds of up to 110 kmph, toppling trees and triggering the collapse of structures. Civil defence authorities confirmed that three people lost their lives in separate incidents caused by falling debris and damaged walls.The latest storm has compounded the woes of a nation already reeling from Ragasa, which struck earlier this week with sustained winds of 265 kmph (165 mph). The super typhoon killed dozens, injured scores and displaced thousands, leaving behind flattened homes, crippled power lines and submerged communities.Severe tropical storm Bualoi, locally called Opong, made landfall late Thursday in San Policarpo town in Eastern Samar province with sustained winds of 110 kmph (68 mph). The storm knocked out power across towns, triggered flooding and caused two minor landslides, according to the national disaster-mitigation agency.Evacuees in one province took cover under pews as the roof of a church where they were sheltering was ripped apart by the storm.“Around 4am, the wind destroyed the door, the windows and the ceiling of the church,” Jerome Martinez, a municipal engineer in Masbate province, told AFP.Videos shared on social media and verified by AFP showed residents using boats or trudging through waist-deep water to navigate flooded streets further south in the central Visayas islands.The Philippines, which faces an average of 20 storms and typhoons annually, remains highly vulnerable to climate shocks. Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as global warming accelerates.Authorities had earlier cautioned of a “high risk of life-threatening storm surge” up to three metres (10 feet) high with Bualoi’s arrival.Meanwhile, thousands remain displaced in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Ragasa, which swept across the country’s far north and killed at least nine people earlier in the week. Ragasa has since moved on after making landfall in China, but its devastation continues to haunt communities across Asia.Ragasa killed more than 27 people and displaced millions across Asia. Countries including the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, southern China and Vietnam are still reeling under its aftermath, even after the super typhoon weakened.