(Bloomberg) -- At least four people died in the Philippines and hundreds were evacuated as Tropical Storm Yagi shut schools, government offices and foreign exchange trading on Monday.
Yagi, called Enteng in the Philippines, made landfall in Aurora province, more than 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Manila, local weather bureau Pagasa said in its 5pm report. The storm that’s packing maximum sustained winds of 85 kilometers per hour has enhanced the southwest monsoon, causing heavy to intense rains in the capital region and nearby provinces.
A 57-year old businessman was electrocuted, while an 8-month old baby was believed to have drowned in Camarines Sur province on the main Luzon island, the disaster agency said in a report. Currency trading among banks was suspended from noon, according to the Bankers Association of the Philippines. More than two dozen local flights were canceled, airport authorities said.
The disruptions come five days after heavy monsoon rains flooded parts of Metro Manila and other areas of the Southeast Asian nation. In July, more than 30 people died as Typhoon Gaemi brought floods and landslides.
Authorities expect the storm to linger in the country through mid-week, before heading to southern China. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expects more disruption and ordered government agencies to announce class and work suspensions earlier than usual to avoid inconvenience. Several cities, towns and provinces have already suspended school classes for Tuesday, ABS-CBN reported.
The storm is expected to leave the Philippines on Wednesday and move towards southern China, according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Yagi will enter within 800 kilometers of Hong Kong on Tuesday and then “edge closer to the coast of southern China and further intensify,” the Hong Kong Observatory said. “It has a higher chance to move towards the vicinity of the western part of Guangdong and Hainan Island.”
More than 3,300 passengers, 47 vessels, 718 rolling cargoes and three motor boats are stranded in various ports, according to the coast guard. As many as 67 people were rescued by the coast guard from severely flooded areas in Camarines Sur province in southern Luzon, it said.
The Philippines is one of the most natural disaster-prone countries in the world. About 20 cyclones pass through the the Southeast Asian nation each year, causing deaths and damage to agriculture, homes and infrastructure.
In Antipolo City in Rizal, a province near the capital, seven people including a pregnant woman and two children died due to drowning and landslide, Rappler reported.
Listen on Zero: Climate Change Is ‘Loading the Weather Dice Against Us’
--With assistance from Andreo Calonzo.
(Updates with reported deaths, latest developments throughout.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
