LEGAZPI, philippines — Typhoon Hagupit slammed into the central Philippines’ east coast late Saturday, knocking out power and toppling trees in a region where 650,000 people have fled to safety.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 109 miles per hour and gusts of 130 mph, Hagupit made landfall in Dolores, a town facing the Pacific in Eastern Samar province, according to the Philippines’ weather agency. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Although it was unlikely to reach the unprecedented strength of last year’s Typhoon Haiyan, Hagupit’s strong winds and heavy rain were enough to possibly 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,” said police Senior Inspector Alex Robin 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 — Filipino for “smash” or “lash” — was expected to hammer parts of a string of island provinces that was devastated by Haiyan’s tsunami-like storm surges and ferocious winds. Hagupit weakened slightly Saturday but remained powerful and erratic.
Robin said about 600 families had hunkered down in Dolores’ three-story municipal hall, one of many emergency shelters.
“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 city, 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.
Army troops deployed to supermarkets and major roads in provinces in the typhoon’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.
