Powerful Typhoon Hagupit slams into eastern Philippines

Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the east-central Philippines late Saturday, knocking out power and toppling trees in a region where hundreds of thousands of people have fled to safety, still haunted by the death and destruction wrought by a monster storm last year.

While Hagupit — Filipino for "smash" or "lash" — has weakened to a Category 3 storm, two notches below a super typhoon, it could still unleash massive destruction with torrential rain and potentially disastrous storm surges of up to 15 feet, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Packing maximum sustained winds of 109 mph and gusts of 130 mph, Hagupit made landfall in Dolores, a coastal town facing the Pacific in Eastern Samar province, according to PAGASA. While there were no immediate reports of casualties, nearly 100 domestic flights have been canceled and interisland ferry services suspended, stranding thousands of people.

Reuters reported that approximately 1 million people had fled to shelters by the time Hagupit made landfall, in what the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction has described as one of the world's biggest peacetime evacuations. The Associated Press put the evacuee total at 650,000. 

In the central city of Tacloban, where in 2013 Typhoon Haiyan's storm surges killed thousands of people and leveled villages, news of the approaching storm rekindled painful memories. Many residents fled to storm shelters, a sports stadium and churches even before authorities urged them to evacuate.

"I'm scared," said Haiyan survivor Jojo Moro. "I'm praying to God not to let another disaster strike us again. We haven't recovered from the first."

The 42-year-old businessman, who lost his wife, daughter and mother last year in Tacloban, said he stocked up on sardines, instant noodles, eggs and water.

Although it was unlikely to reach the unprecedented strength of Typhoon Haiyan, Hagupit's strong winds and heavy rain were enough to cause major damage to an impoverished region still reeling from the devastating November 2013 storm, which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing.

"There are many trees that have toppled, some of them on the highway," police Senior Inspector Alex Robin said by phone late Saturday from Dolores hours before Hagupit made landfall. "We are totally in the dark here. The only light comes from flashlights."

From Eastern Samar, Hagupit was expected to hammer a string of island provinces that were devastated by Haiyan's tsunami-like storm surges and ferocious winds last year. Hagupit weakened slightly on Saturday but remained dangerously powerful and erratic.

Robin said about 600 families had hunkered down in Dolores' three-story municipal hall, one of many emergency shelters in the town.

"Everyone here is just looking for a place to sleep," he said. "All the windows are closed, but it is still cool because of the wind and the rain."

Eastern Samar province Rep. Ben Evardone said electricity was knocked out early Saturday in Borongan, about 43 miles south of Dolores, where the government has set up a command center for rescue and relief operations headed by Interior Secretary Mar Roxas.

Evardone said the strong winds felled trees and ripped off roofing sheets. "You can hear the whistling of the wind," he said.

"Everybody is in fear because of what happened during [Haiyan]," he said. "We can already feel the wrath of the typhoon. Everybody is praying."

About 25,000 people in Eastern Samar and nearby Leyte still live in tents, shelters and bunkhouses because of devastation caused by Haiyan.

Army troops on Saturday deployed to supermarkets and major roads in provinces in the storm's path to prevent looting and chaos and clear debris, all of which slowed the government's response last year, said Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, head of the Philippines' 120,000-strong military.

"We're on red alert, so the entire armed forces is being mobilized for this typhoon," he said at a news conference.

Al Jazeera and wire services