TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Typhoon Fung-wong, which hit the northeastern coast of the Philippines from the Pacific Ocean on Sunday as a super typhoon with maximum wind speeds of 185 km/h and gusts of up to 230 km/h, has killed at least 25 people as reported by ABC News on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
The storm, spanning 1,800 kilometers, has claimed at least 25 lives due to flash floods and landslides in several provinces in the northern region.
Approximately 1.4 million people are still displaced as of Tuesday due to the typhoon known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Uwan.
Fung-wong struck northern Philippines while the country was still grappling with the aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi last week, which killed at least 232 people in the central province on November 4 before hitting Vietnam, where at least five people died.
Most of the casualties were due to landslides, while others perished in flash floods, stripped electric cables, and collapsed houses.
Among the fatalities were three children whose homes were buried by two separate landslides in the mountainous province of Nueva Vizcaya. Meanwhile, landslides in the neighboring province of Kalinga claimed the lives of two villagers, officials said.
Authorities stated that 29 people were injured.
Strong winds and heavy rains have flooded at least 132 villages in the northern region, including one village where some residents were trapped on their rooftops as the floodwaters rose rapidly.
More than 4,100 houses were damaged, said Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV from the Civil Defense Office and other officials.
"While the typhoon has passed, its rains still pose a danger in certain areas" in northern Luzon, including in metropolitan Manila, said Alejandro as cited by Al Jazeera. "We’ll undertake today rescue, relief and disaster-response operations."
Taiwan's Turn
Meanwhile, Taiwan has evacuated over 3,000 people from vulnerable areas and closed schools and offices ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which has already claimed at least 25 lives and displaced over 1.4 million people in the Philippines.
Fung-wong is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, in the late afternoon or evening near the port city of Kaohsiung in the southwest.
Previously classified as a typhoon, its intensity decreased as it approached Taiwan.
"Fung-wong may have been downgraded to a weak typhoon but we still cannot lower our guard," said Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai.
On Tuesday morning, the storm had maximum wind speeds of up to 108 kilometers per hour, with gusts of 137 km/h.
Typhoon Fung-wong is expected to hit Taiwan and exit its northeastern side on Wednesday night or early Thursday, according to Taiwan's meteorological agency.
Over 3,300 people have been evacuated near the city of Guangfu in the eastern region, where flooding caused by a typhoon in September led to the overflow of a barrier lake, resulting in 18 deaths.
Schools and offices were closed on Tuesday in Hualien and Yilan counties, while meteorological authorities issued a land warning covering the southern and southwestern regions including Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Tainan, and Taitung.
The Ministry of Transportation stated that 66 flights, mostly domestic, were canceled on Tuesday.
China has also activated typhoon emergency responses for southeastern provinces, namely Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Hainan.
The Philippines and Taiwan are hit by several typhoons and storms each year, and they are also located in earthquake-prone areas.
Two catastrophic typhoons hitting the Philippines within a week occurred as representatives from various countries around the world gathered in Belem, Brazil, to attend the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) this week.
Many of the countries facing the worst impacts of climate change, such as the Philippines, contribute the least to causing the crisis due to their relatively small fossil fuel emissions.
They now urge the countries responsible for the climate crisis, which still spend around US$1 trillion per year to subsidize fossil fuels, to help bear the costs of climate disaster response.
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