From the night of November 3, typhoon Kalmaegi (local name Tino) continuously strengthened as it moved westward, sweeping through the central and western Philippines.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) confirmed that the storm made landfall in Silago town, Southern Leyte province right after midnight on November 3, bringing heavy rain and strong gusts of wind that caused trees and electric poles to fall and roads to be cut off.
Many domestic flights were canceled, sea routes were temporarily suspended, and rescue teams had difficulty approaching the affected area.
The storms path reminded Samar and Leyte residents of their haunted memories of the 2013 super typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the area, a local official said.
According to the storm bulletin issued at 2:00 a.m. on November 4, PAGASA has raised the warning level of strong winds from signal level 1 to 5 in many areas, especially signal 5 (destroying wind risk over 220 km/h) was warned at some points in Eastern Samar and Dinagat Islands.
Rainfall of 50-200 mm in a few hours caused flash floods, landslides and rising water in the coastal area. Authorities recorded more than 150,000 people in Eastern Samar, Leyte and Southern Leyte having to be urgently evacuated. In many places, houses had their roofs blown off, electricity was out rong rai, schools and offices had to close.
The latest storm news at 4:00 a.m. on November 4 from PAGASA said that the center of the storm was at 10.8 degrees north latitude, 124.3 degrees east longitude, off San Francisco, Philippines, with the strongest winds of 150 km/h, gusting up to 205 km/h, central pressure of 960 hPa. The strong wind radius extends up to 300km from the center of the storm.
The storm is moving west at a speed of 25 km/h, sweeping across the Camotes and Visayas islands and is expected to reach Palawan on the morning of November 5, before leaving the PAR forecast area early on the morning of November 6.
Although the mountainous terrain may cause the storm to weaken slightly, PAGASA said that Typhoon Kalaemagi will maintain strong typhoon level throughout the sweep across the mainland.
According to storm forecasters, Typhoon Kalmaegi is a typical example of the phenomenon of "rapid intensification" - when the storm suddenly strengthens in a few hours due to unusually high sea temperatures.
More than a decade ago, in 2013, super typhoon Hai Yen (Yolanda) - one of the strongest storms in history - killed more than 6,000 people and flattened the city of Tacloban, less than 200km from where Tino just made landfall.
Now, as Typhoon Kalmaegi sweeps through the same area again, that fear is reviving in every Philippine family. We are ready, but our hearts are still shaking every time we hear the wind blowing through the windows, a Leyte resident said.
It is forecasted that after passing through Visayas and Northern Palawan, storm Kalmaegi will enter the East Sea on November 5, becoming storm No. 13, with a gradual decrease in intensity, but still strong enough to cause bad weather in the sea east of Vietnam.
