Philstar.com
November 12, 2025 | 7:00am
MANILA, Philippines — The United Nations warned that powerful storms like Typhoon Fung-wong, locally known as Uwan, will become more frequent as the climate crisis warms the seas around the Philippines.
“Strong typhoons such as Fung-Wong will unfortunately be more likely as the climate crisis drives sea temperatures in the region higher, making our joint preparedness work more important than ever,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said Monday, November 10, in a daily press briefing in New York.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was quoted as saying that the Philippine government is leading response and early recovery efforts after one of the country’s largest pre-emptive evacuations on record.
More than 1.3 million people were evacuated in 13 of 18 regions before the storm made landfall, with about 480,000 people still displaced and over 6,000 evacuation centres operating as of Monday.
UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Arnaud Peral commended the country’s readiness, saying its efficient preparedness, pre-emptive evacuations and other timely responses “undoubtedly saved lives,” Haq said.
Floods, landslides and a rising toll
On Tuesday, November 11, rescuers using backhoes and chainsaws began clearing debris as floodwaters receded in hundreds of villages.
Fung-wong, which displaced 1.4 million people, weakened into a severe tropical storm as it dumped rain on Taiwan ahead of an expected landfall there on Wednesday.
It was the second major typhoon to hit the Philippines in days, after Typhoon Kalmaegi (locally named Tino) rampaged through the central islands last week, killing 232 people, according to the latest figures.
AFP/John Dimain
In coastal Isabela province, a town of 6,000 remained cut off from help, with parts of neighbouring Nueva Vizcaya similarly isolated, a regional civil defense spokesman told Agence France-Presse.
“We are struggling to access these areas,” Alvin Ayson said, adding that landslides had prevented rescuers from reaching residents.
‘I am very tired of this’
National civil defense deputy administrator Rafaelito Alejandro said many of those killed had died in landslides, most of them in the Cordillera mountain range.
“The greatest challenge for us right now is the restoration of lifelines, road clearing, and restoration of power and communication lines, but we are working on it,” Alejandro said.
In Catanduanes Island’s Virac town, resident Jossa Floranza, 34, said another typhoon had already forced her to move neighbourhoods, only to see her new home destroyed.
“We thought we were safe here,” she said. “My neighbors said this was the first time that they experienced flooding in this area. I am very tired of this. So tired.”
Scientists warn that storms are becoming more powerful due to human-driven climate change. Warmer oceans allow typhoons to strengthen rapidly and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, producing heavier rainfall. — reports from Camille Diola/Philstar.com and Agence France-Presse